


Rainbow Drabble Siege

by QueenEvaine



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-06-20 04:59:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 45
Words: 54,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15526557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenEvaine/pseuds/QueenEvaine
Summary: A collection of Rainbow Six Siege drabbles!





	1. Jäger Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some GSG9 team bonding set during Outbreak, because I had this idea on my mind and couldn't shake it.

Jäger still wasn’t quite able to figure out what had hit him and brought his helicopter into a dangerous nosedive, but he did know he was extremely lucky to be alive. Dominic was going to be annoyed, he was sure, but the other wouldn’t ever have to know that luck was the reason. The injury on his left side bled heavily and stained his pant leg a dark red, but he knew it wasn’t lethal. _By itself, that is._ Walking was a struggle he couldn’t manage on his own, he found, and enemies were quickly closing in to the sound of the dying engine. There was no way Rainbow would leave him alone. _Right?_

He sat waiting in silence, laying on rubble and hoping that playing dead would fool some of the roaches coming closer. The sound of gunfire was unexpected, but wholeheartedly welcome. Rescue was coming soon enough, and he just needed to hold out. His vision was blurring, but he still recognized Smoke coming through the open doorway, accompanied by the two CBRN experts, Finka and Lion. He could hear their chatter, helped up to a sitting position and firmly asked if he was alright. He was fine enough; the injury wouldn’t kill him. 

He hated now having to wait for the extraction helicopter to come in, forced to sit like a child in timeout as the other operators fortified the building. They were working to give him the much needed protection until help arrived, he knew, but that didn’t change how much he hated it. The roaches swarmed, eager to tear him to shreds or blow him up, and the only prevention was covering fire from the others. His own guns were out of ammo; the supplies strewn when he went down. 

He felt a sense of sympathy for the crashed machine, it had done nothing but serve him well and there was no saving it. It almost felt wrong, to have to leave it torn and burning in the roof of the roadside store, yet there was nothing he could do. He almost swore that it’s blades whirred to life, having to look up to confirm that the machine was still wrecked and the noise he heard was instead coming from outside. There was never a moment where the sound made a wave of relief wash over him, but he felt it nonetheless. 

Lion got him to his feet and helped him to the cabin of the helicopter, and the thought that _this would be far more embarrassing if I wasn’t bleeding out_ crossed his mind. There was a firm pressure at his side, stemming the blood flow that had trailed after him. The ground got further and further away as they took off, and Jäger was able to fully appreciate just how lucky he really was. The crash would have killed any passengers, and should have killed him, and somehow it didn’t. He sat silently, waving off questions of concern. He was _fine_ , and would be fine, they didn’t need to worry. 

Doc was firm in seeing him, confirming that he would recover just fine and ensure that he wasn’t at all infected. To his disappointment, he was being sent home, no longer fit to perform on mission. Jäger knew better than to argue with Doc when the altruist’s mind was made up for the sake of someone else. The worst part was waiting, where the pain was the only clear feeling and everything else was fuzzy. He would at least have time to sleep on the ride home, and he wasn’t about to forsake that opportunity and avoid _more_ concerned looks and questions. He rested in the back of the helicopter to take him home, staying near the back to hear and feel the vibrations of the tail’s rotors as he fell asleep. 

 

The banging on the door of the cabin startled him awake, already not a great start to a sour mood. He used the seats and the walls to support himself as he stood, surprised when the door was thrown open. 

“Jesus. You really look like scheiße this time.”

Dominic’s statement shouldn’t have surprised him. 

“Don’t worry, I feel just as bad as I look.”

Behind Dominic were Monika and Elias, clearly expecting him. He realized too late that he hadn’t said anything to them, having completely forgotten in favor of ignoring all interactions with other people. 

“If we’d known you were coming back so soon,” Elias’ voice started, “I would have asked Frost for help with a proper welcome mat.”

“Very funny, Elias.”

Dominic snickered, moving now to help him down from the helicopter.

“What even happened?”

Monika was clearly concerned, and there was no denying it to anyone. He knew he should have at least told her, the woman was dedicated to her very best and deserved at least that much. _Even if she sometimes puts those expectations on other people._

“Something hit me while flying and took me out of the air. Rescue team came before things got too bad, don’t worry that much.”

“Clearly still bad enough if Doc is so eager in sending you home as soon as possible.”

“It’s nothing _lethal_ , Monika. It will heal just fine.”

Monika shrugged, and he was grateful that she decided to let the topic go. 

“Fine. No pranks or rough housing until you’ve healed.” 

The collective groan of disappointment from Elias and Dominic made him grin. She and Elias turned to head inside, leaving Dominic to help him walk. He was still sure he would be more embarrassed and annoyed if there wasn’t the unspoken agreement that he did sincerely need the help, and as much as the other operator moaned about him being a “heavy sack of shit”, there was no refusing to help. The walk to his bed felt like an eternity, with the slow pace and endless stream of sarcastic retorts, making it incredibly hard to not simply collapse on the soft cushions and relax. 

The pain by now had dulled, now allowed to take the painkillers that Doc had recommended. _They will make you drowsy,_ Doc warned, _do not take them until you’re back at your own quarters._ The helmet and other easy-to-remove gear was carelessly thrown aside; he couldn’t be bothered as exhaustion set in. Monika was preoccupied with her electronics scanner, still aware of Dominic’s intense and plotting gaze combined with the disgustingly sweet voice. 

“Do you think we should tidy up his gear? Perhaps get the vest off him?”

“Let him rest, both of you.”

Elias gave a sigh at Monika’s command. 

“You know, I can get the vest off without bothering him too much.”

“And then what, cover the inside with velcro? No.”

“Could we compromise to bubble wrap?”

Elias gladly joined in, now making her look up to very eager and devious faces. 

“If I let you, will you leave him alone until he’s recovered?”

The nod was the best answer she was going to get, she figured. With a roll of her eyes, she waved her hand. 

“Fine, go ahead.”

Dominic grinned as he got up to go find a roll of bubble wrap, leaving Elias to carefully undo the straps of the vest and follow suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm somewhat new to writing R6S, but I'm really enjoying it even if I'm not too confident about characterizations yet. But practice makes perfect, so I hope this is as enjoyable to read as it was to write!


	2. Happy Birthday Bandit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bandit's birthday celebrations!

“Are you sure you know how to make a cake?” 

“It’s a cake, Monika. How hard can that be?”

“Clearly too difficult for you. Have you touched this?”

Elias turned around to the cake cooling on the counter, delicately poking it. Marius looked up from the instructions of the icing container, tilting his head. 

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It feels like a _sponge_. Have neither of you baked a single thing in your lives?” 

“Monika, do I look like I bake in my free time?”

“The instructions are on the box! You do not need to be a professional to follow directions!” 

“In our defense,” Elias started with a typically casual tone, “it’s at least edible.” 

“Gott verdammt nochmal… Are you two that incapable of asking for help?”

“Monika, it’s Dominic. He’s not going to care as much as you do.”

Marius shrugged, putting the icing next to the cooling cake. Elias crossed his arms loosely as he leaned against the counter, entirely unconcerned. 

“I fail to see how that is an acceptable reason to put in minimal effort.”

“Monika, it’ll be okay. He’ll enjoy it anyway. You did get candles, right Marius?”

“Ja, of course I did.”

Monika let out a sigh of relief. 

“Thank God for that. I’ve already got everything else done, after that is simply waiting for Dominic.”

Elias nodded as he started to spread icing on the cake, leaving Marius to go grab the candles. The living room was simply decorated, with cheesy streamers and balloons set up around the corners. The others were going to arrive later, with the SAS volunteering to be the ones to buy time for preparing Dominic’s apartment. Monika had made sure to think about every possibility, including stowing any sharp objects away before drunken games were created with their use. 

The buzz of her phone gave her the indication that they weren’t going to have much more time. She went to check on the cake, pausing at the doorway. 

“You have to be kidding.” 

Elias’ attention darted over to Monika when she spoke, previously watching Marius put candles and rainbow colored sprinkles all over the top of the cake. Rather than putting candles on for Dominic’s age, the numbers instead were ‘69420’.

“It’s funny!”

Elias laughed as Monika sighed, hand smacking her forehead. 

“I work with children. And you didn’t even take it out of the pan!”

Marius blinked at the pan, then turned to Elias. 

“I thought we had forgotten something.”

_“Oh mein Gott…”_

The sound of the door unlocking cut off any further conversation, the three of them heading to the living room. The door swung open, and Dominic was clearly taken aback by the decorations. 

“Happy birthday, Dom!” 

The SAS operators made their way into the apartment, Seamus closing the door behind them. 

“Scheiße, you really went all for making my apartment look ridiculous.”

“Good thing we have beer and you don’t have to clean up, ja?”

Elias gave a grin, gesturing to the fridge in the kitchen. It didn’t take long for them to gladly crack some bottles open, conversations quickly devolving into banter and roughhousing. 

“Did you all bother with making a cake?”

Dominic looked to his fellow GSG9, catching on to Monika’s pointed glare to Elias and Marius. 

“They did, at least an edible one. But, it does not at all look pretty.” 

“As if I care about appearances? I work with you three.” 

The uproar of laughter drowned everything else out, ending when Dominic stood up and followed Marius to the kitchen. James hung back at the doorway, laughing. 

“You really weren’t pulling our legs when you said it didn’t look pretty.” 

“And this will be the last time I let either of these two try anything with an oven.” 

Elias laughed with a shrug, watching Dominic grab a handful of cake. Marius didn’t take long to follow suit, leaving Seamus to laugh with a shake of his head. 

“You’re all fucking animals.”

Monika could only sigh, giving up on any endeavor of maintaining civility and watching the other guys tear the cake apart and devolve further as the celebration went on, everyone ending up either sprawled on the couch or nearby floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos if you recognize the video I drew some inspiration from for the whole cake shenanigans. IQ says 'God dammit' and 'Oh my God' in German, for those curious.


	3. Who Heals The Medic?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired by [this art](http://queenevaine.tumblr.com/post/176300190342/0-niom-0-saw-the-new-doc-elite-skin-leak-and) and wanted to write the idea I got.

Doc knew injuries were an unfortunate inevitability, yet always worked to make sure they weren’t fatal. His stim pistol was enough to keep teammates-or on rare occasions, himself- alive until they could get proper medical attention. All his gear was designed to keep people from walking the tightrope between life and death for the precious few seconds that made all the difference. That didn’t excuse carelessness, and careful fortifications were the primary defense that kept the White Masks from storming in and taking everything they greedily wanted. 

It was ironic, he noted, to be out of reinforcements as bullets tore through the wall he hadn’t secured. His stim pistol was out of ammo, having used it on other recruits to make sure they would pull through. He shouldn’t have left the wall undefended, shouldn’t have allowed the others to get themselves so dangerously injured; every ‘shouldn’t have’ running through his mind as bullets flew past him, most grazing past him. The bullet that sank into his midsection made him groan in pain, still able to shoot the aggressor dead. 

He fell back against the wall, knowing very well there were still more White Masks on the other side of the wall. He was able to clearly hear their shouts and orders, trying to prevent himself from bleeding more heavily onto the tiles underneath him. Blood loss with a serious threat, combined with the fact that he was in very real danger of being shot again, or worse. 

He winced applying pressure to his side, trying to focus on the footsteps rather than the shouted commands through the radio. They were determined to get up to him sooner rather than later, but had to do so carefully to not get in a worse situation than they were in now. Slow, prideful footsteps paced towards him, ones that didn’t belong to any of the operators he knew. Before he had a chance to look up at the pursuer, gunfire interrupted the silence. He tried sitting up, unable to help the cry of pain. 

“Doc?! Hang on, mon ami!” 

Rook’s voice was a relief. His white gloves were stained red from his own blood, spattered across the wall and flowing across the tile. The practiced confirmations that the rooms were clear of hostiles sounded again and again, as Rook’s voice got closer. 

“Tu vas bien aller, Doc.”

Julien made sure to support his weight while keeping pressure on the bullet wound. Gustave himself was never afraid of admitting when he needed help, but that didn’t mean he liked to admit it. He knew that the younger operator was far too determined on the safety of the others in the team to be swayed, and that included himself. 

“Ce n’est rien de sérieux, Julien.” 

He couldn’t be bothered to try and speak English, not when the other still understood him. Blood loss was starting to affect him, and he needed to think more on how to help himself. 

“You’re bleeding badly, Gustave. It’s serious enough.”

He nodded in response, all too aware of his condition. Time was always of the essence, but he knew that he would be fine if he got attention sometime soon. Even while unsure of how long he had been sitting there, it couldn’t have been more than a minute. Julien was swift in getting Gustave to safety, not wanting to waste any time. The whirring of the helicopter blades jarred Gustave out of his thoughts, gladly taking the help to get inside. He tried to stifle the hiss of pain as antiseptic from the first-aid kit on board stung at the open injury, gear slowly being eased off of him. 

He felt so much lighter without the vest and emergency supplies on his shoulders, feeling bandages wrap tightly around his chest. The bleeding mostly stopped after the unwavering pressure, even if it still stung. 

“Je vais bien, Julien. Merci.”

Julien nodded, relief clear on his face even under the balaclava and protective headgear. The other operator was almost always an open book, Gustave noticed, reliable and skilled on the field and just as dependable and protective off of it. He could be impulsive, but the younger man knew how to keep those impulses in check. 

“Good. Don’t strain yourself, we’ll be back soon.”

A quick nod was the best answer he could give, especially when Emmannuelle and Gilles stepped in and were keenly aware of the stained red patch on his side. He got caught up in restating that yes, he was okay, yes, he’d heal perfectly fine, and no, there was no reason to be especially concerned. He let himself relax as much as possible, trying to wave Julien off and reassure the others that he could manage himself until they landed. He sighed at the subtle refusals, and simply gave up in trying to convince them to not worry. 

He was especially relieved to be back at the Rainbow base, Gilles stepping up to help him to the familiar walls of the medical office he spent much of his time in. Bandages were redressed and pain was eased as painkillers set in. 

“How are you feeling, Gustave?”

Montagne was a fitting nickname for Gilles, always there and more than happy to support the others any way he could. 

“Much better now, merci.” 

“Are you sure? I don’t wish to push you, but you sometimes do that too well yourself.”

He sat in guilty silence, knowing there wasn’t much he could say in his defense. 

“Truly, I am alright. It’s nothing that will keep me out of action for long.”

Gilles nodded, sitting in a nearby chair. 

“Just give yourself a good rest, without work on your mind. S’il vous plaît, Gustave.”

He hesitated as Gilles’ hand rested on his own, forcing papers back down onto his desk. 

“For a day-”

“Two, at least.”

“...Fine, two days. But if anything comes up and requires my assistance-”

“Just rest, don’t worry. I’ll make sure that isn’t necessary.”

Gilles pressed a quick kiss to his cheek at the resigned sigh. 

“Merci, Gustave. And you know you can call me anytime if you need anything.”

“I know, and I do appreciate it. Good night, Gilles.”

“Sleep well, mon ami.”

The nod in response was sufficient enough, leaving him in the office as his companion walked out. Gustave took a deep breath, organizing his things and leaving them on his desk before he headed home to rest.


	4. Freeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bandit freezes, Montagne helps him.

It was a rare occurrence for both Montagne and Bandit to be assigned to the same mission. Their skill sets were vastly different; Montagne was consistent and stable, always reliable in the same ways time and time again, and compared to himself, Bandit knew, he was as consistent as a die. His own solutions were improvised, utilizing whatever was around him, yet Montagne only ever needed his shield. He wasn’t at all jealous of the consistency, it was a quietly residing fear that the other might not approve of his improvised tactics, and the last thing he wanted was to ruin the brightest part of his life. 

The possessive streak in him constantly whispered to do whatever it took to make sure Montagne was only ever _his_ , and if that meant stooping to low standards to keep away terrorists that would gladly gun both of them down, then it was fair game. It was up to them to hold the garage, denying the White Masks access to the sturdier trucks and crates of weapons they had stored. The other part of the team was clearing the rest of the building, counting on them to be the anchoring position if it all went awry. 

“This wall should be entirely reinforced. I suppose now we simply wait.”

Bandit wasn’t sure how he felt about Montagne letting him taking lead. It made sense, defending an area was his expertise, not Montagne’s, but somehow it still felt wrong. It was like knowing he shouldn’t be trusted with such a responsibility; Montagne was sometimes far too good to him and he would never forgive himself if something happened. He was used to his partner taking charge in situations, calm voice always rational and knowing just how to ease his nerves and allow him to show vulnerability without feeling exposed. He blinked rapidly and nodded when he realized he spaced out staring in Montagne’s direction, earning a soft smile from the man. 

“Good. Which doorway would you prefer I cover?”

Bandit looked around the garage. Their main concerns for now were the doors leading to the rest of the building and the one leading outside. If they tried to breach the reinforcements, he could destroy them with his shock wire. 

“The door leading inside. I can cover this side.”

Montagne nodded, taking position by the door that lead to the rest of the building. Bandit leaned against the outer door and reinforcements, listening carefully. He always treated defense missions as survival situations he chose, but now the stakes were higher and a heavier pressure mounted on his shoulders. Montagne was relying on him, placing full trust where Bandit was sure it didn’t belong in the first place. It made him tense more than usual, every sense on high alert to make sure things didn’t go awry. 

He tightened his grip on his gun when he heard footsteps and voices he didn’t recognize. He made sure to press himself against the metal, trying to hear exactly where they might breach the wall and destroy whatever explosives they had set up to detonate with his shock wire. It was only a matter of time when he started to hear the telltale signs, gloves protecting his hands from the electricity as he took care of their devices. He would’ve been lying if he tried to say that he wasn’t feeling a sense of smug pride at their annoyed shouts. The silence following wouldn’t lull him into a false sense of security, holding the wire at the ready for whichever wall they decided to try next. 

Whatever they had set up in the few minutes of silence, Bandit knew he wouldn’t be able to set up all of his wires to prevent the several explosions he knew were going to sound out. He took cover by the wall he was able to protect, ready to fire on anything that moved in. A quick glance in Montagne’s direction confirmed that the trucks were between him and the incoming hostiles. He didn’t flinch taking down the hostiles that entered, aim unwavering. He only shifted in brief moments of rest, in the pauses where it was clear they were trying to figure out what to do. 

He recognized the flashbang, turning his gaze away before it went off. It still made his ears ring, but he stayed where he was to watch the opening. He was aware of movement to his left, catching sight of Montagne running towards him. 

_“-Dominic!”_

He heard his own voice so clearly and with such an _unsettling_ tone of concern and what he could only name as fear that it made him freeze. He heard the beeping close to his right too late, the bomber was only feet away. He was probably fast enough to get up and run out of range, but his mind raced faster with thoughts over actions with the constricting invasion of the feeling that he was in serious trouble and that Montagne would be upset with him. His eyes widened as time seemed to slow. 

Arms wrapped around him protectively, accompanied by the sound of metal moving. He barely registered it as the shield Montagne brought everywhere, shielding him from the worst of the blast. He shook his head to recollect himself, pushing the memory of Montagne’s strained shout aside. They still had a problem to resolve, and now wasn’t the time to freeze again. The haze settling in bothered him, still intensely aware of his surroundings but unable to grasp how long things were taking, how much time really passed when an explosive cell landed on the car behind them, how long it took for Montagne to put himself in the way to block the blast, and how long it had been after their fight and after he had to bash someone’s skull in with the butt of his rifle after bashing Montagne across the jaw. 

The silence settled in again, guilt instead of pride clawing its way to his throat and snuffing out any attempt to speak. The rest of the team made their way down to the garage, further pushing any thoughts of apologizing or showing any weakness, not in front of everyone else. He stood motionless, carefully watching as the team regrouped and replanned the rest of their search of the building after having cleared out every terrorist they could find, and also meaning that the defense of the garage wasn’t necessary anymore. 

He kept his eye on the doorway until he was sure they were gone, shifting his eyes to see the blood trickling down Montagne’s forehead and from the corner of his mouth. It was so obviously his fault, not paying enough attention and locking up when he couldn’t afford to. He should be dead, and yet he wasn’t because Montagne willingly risked himself. His fists clenched as he took a deep breath in, eyes avoiding Montagne’s as the other man walked closer. 

“Dom, are you alright?”

“Yes.”

No. It was obvious he wasn’t, but he didn’t have any right to say that. Not when Montagne was hurt instead of him because of his own shortcomings. The gentle touch on his shoulder was inviting, but he shook his head. 

“I’m fine. You should worry about yourself.”

The acidic tone of his voice was off putting, he realized too late, but Montagne smiled regardless. 

“I’m glad you’re okay, but you should know this isn’t-”

“No, it is. If it were any other mission and I had done the same thing as I did then, I would be dead and we both know that. I made a mistake that I should never have made, and never have. Don’t say it isn’t my fault. It is.”

Anger surged, although he knew it wasn’t directed at Montagne, rather himself for being so careless. He hated snapping at the one person who was always patient, yet it was the reaction he knew best when he was especially strained. 

“You’re right. If it had been any other moment, it would be different. But it isn’t, Dom. We’re in this situation, and I’m happy I didn’t have to lose you in front of my eyes.”

Bandit stayed silent, words dying before they could be spoken. Montagne’s hand drifted off his shoulder as he went to turn away, a motion that Bandit knew wasn’t signalling abandonment, but giving him space to process everything. He reached for Montagne’s hand, holding it tightly as he pressed himself against Montagne’s back. 

“I’m sorry. I was worried… and, I’m angry for letting this happen.”

Montagne turned again, letting Bandit hug close to his chest rather than his back. 

“We’re both alive and safe. I never once doubt that you’ll do everything you can to have my back. I’ll always have yours.”

Bandit hummed, reluctantly pulling himself away when their comms lit up with chatter and the mission was completely done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was based off of absolutely wonderful art by afrenchdisaster on tumblr!


	5. Lull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bandit gets some much needed rest and comfort from Montagne.

Bandit was exhausted. His muscles ached and he was all too eager to collapse and sleep, yet he wasn’t tired enough in that sense. It was a familiar motion to walk to Montagne’s room, regardless if he was there or not. It didn’t particularly matter, even simply wrapping himself in Montagne’s blankets was enough to soothe him. _He’s probably out anyway, it’s still early to be in bed._ He quietly slipped into the room, somewhat surprised to see Montagne laying on his bed with a book. 

“Dom, you’re back. I missed you.”

The book was quickly put aside, Montagne standing to wrap his arms around Bandit in a hug. He hummed in response, tiredly resting his hands on Montagne’s waist. 

“Tired?”

“Mmm.”

Montagne’s laugh was soothing, and was one of the best sounds he heard in the past few days. He was happy to stand there in his arms, head rested against his chest and listening to his beating heart. He was incredibly warm and comforting, making all senses of stress and tension fade. Montagne’s shirt was soft, making him wonder if he had worn it on purpose for this moment. He could feel a hand drift up his back under his clothes, lightly trailing along his spine and coming to a rest beside his shoulder blade. Montagne’s fingers dug into his skin, working through the knot as Bandit couldn’t help the soft ‘ah’ and the way he leaned closer into Montagne.

“Am I hurting you?”

He only realized then it might’ve sounded like he was in pain, when it was anything but. He shook his head briefly. 

“No, I’m fine.”

Montagne waited, knowing from experience that the phrase was extremely common from Bandit. Bandit’s grip around his waist tightened slightly as he spoke barely above a murmur. 

“It really doesn’t hurt, please Gilles… I really missed you too.”

Montagne enjoyed the moments where Bandit let his guard down, the times when he let himself be taken care of with no thoughts of appearances. He carefully guided Bandit to his best, laying down and picking up where he paused before and gently rolling his fingers against Bandit’s tense shoulders. He noticed it when Bandit had walked in, shoulders raised and tense after what had likely been days since they were relaxed. 

Bandit was half laying on Montagne, eyes closed as he simply lay still and enjoyed every touch and motion across his body, trying not to move too much as Montagne’s fingers pressed into his lower back. Listening to the deep, steady breaths helped soothe him even more, feeling distinctly like jello in Montagne’s hands. That vulnerability would have bothered him if it was with anyone else. 

Montagne's right hand brushed gently along Bandit's cheek, tucking loose hair away behind his ear and tracing his jawline with his fingers. Seeing Bandit so calm and relaxed was a treasure in itself, and being able to be the source of it felt even better. With eyes closed and lips parting slightly at every soft sound and breath of pleasure, Bandit looked entirely in bliss. His hand gently rested on Bandit's neck, feeling the soft beating and small movements as he breathed in and out and as his heart beat. 

He started tracing small circles as Bandit tilted his head to expose his neck more, leaning his head further into Montagne's chest. He kept up the motion for several minutes, listening and enjoying the peaceful quiet. Slowly, his hand moved back to Bandit's jaw to tilt his head and softly kiss his lips, feeling him shift up to get even closer. 

He pressed his forehead to Bandit's after he pulled away, keenly aware of how the German was starting to drift in his exhaustion.

“Better?”

Bandit hummed in affirmation. Montagne smiled, opting to stay where he was and carefully reach over for his book and pick up reading as Bandit fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't tend to post two updates in one day like this, but I really adore soft touches/displays of affection and I had to.


	6. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off of [this song!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01AxvRCzB7w)

_You could be a hero._

Olivier joined the military for himself. Selfishness drove him, whether he wanted to admit it or not. There was no sense of goodwill involved in his decision to join; he had done so to find a purpose. And he was given exactly what he wanted, and excelled at it. He had been able to straighten himself out, easily able to realize his sins when he met his son. Alexis was his name, and seeing the child he wanted gone before him drove every agony he caused down on his shoulders. He was too keen to not realize his mistakes. The familiar abyss of depression nearly swallowed him, everything slipping from his fingers. 

_But here you are, scared of your shadow._

He was forever grateful to Chaplain Bertrand for his patience. The devout man was patient enough to help him, and without that saving grace, everything would have been lost again. All the effort wasted, and he would have been back at square one. He had renewed resolve, and now with a plan on how to find solace. 

_Looking at the stars._

Challenges became more essential; he had to push himself harder. He was capable of it and more, he knew, and some called it arrogance. He knew his own capabilities, following orders and protocol to a T. Joining the GIGN was a perfect opportunity to go further, and he didn’t dare turn the offer away. 

_When everybody runs you gotta stand tall._

He was good at what he did, efficiently quarantining areas with the drones he utilized. Pain was irrelevant so long as he did his duty. He was one of the best, and no one could afford him stagnating. If the sky was the limit, he had already mastered it and strove higher. Nothing would keep him from making things right in the best way he could. 

_Hit after hit, you can never fall._

Two distinct periods of depression hadn’t been his end. Despite bordering the line of falling victim to destructive habits, forever marked as a tragedy caused by human vices, he held out and made something of himself. 

_If the stars come crashing, You’ll be the one to catch them._

Duty was integral to his life. Clear expectations could be exceeded and surpassed. He performed his best no matter how much his body ached, no matter how much his chest hurt with a maelstrom of emotions, no matter how much that internal voice begged him to stop. 

_Don’t, let, go._

He trusted order and protocol more than himself. Saving lives was his goal, his chance at redemption. His decisions were not made from instinct, they were made from a deep understanding of how he was expected to act. The voice of his conscience was always wrong, and he no longer trusted it. 

_You could be a hero._

He was called Lion, for his booming voice and stern commands for the people to stand back. It was for their safety, not his own, and they refused to listen. The frightened whispers and wary stares didn’t faze him. It was simply what was necessary to do his job. The nickname and their fear stuck, and he accepted both. 

_Scream your name._

Lion trusted the rational part of his mind, the intelligent one he possessed that was capable of so much. Even in the midst of tragedy, impulse was pushed aside without fail and a rigid plan of action was fulfilled. Impulses were what got people killed, trying to do what was right in a surge of impatience and righteousness. Impulses were easy to fall to, and straying away from them were not, even more so when lives were on the line. 

_When the world comes crashing down, you’ll take the pain._

Doc’s words stung. There was no lying to himself, yet what could he have done? People died in tragedies, and those going to help had to be aware of the risks. They did not choose to be soldiers for a safe life. 

_You could be a hero._

Cold and heartless, Doc had shouted in a fit of rage, colleague still in his arms. There was nothing he could have done to save him, and yet Doc worked tirelessly regardless. The man was going to wear himself too thin trying to save everyone, and Lion saw it. How could Doc not see it too? Humanitarianism was too much of a liability, taking too many risks for a single person when there were so many more lives on the line. 

_You’ll find a way. Every battle led you closer to today._

CBRN was the best transfer he could’ve asked for. Finka’s recommendation was a godsend, allowing him to specialize further in biohazard containment. With Twitch’s help on a new aerial drone, it didn’t take long to prove himself and save the people of Sussex from the poisonous mist. 

_You could be a hero._

His son was a blessing, growing up well and always being much bigger when Lion saw him next. He hated that there was a time in his life where he wanted Claire to get rid of him, feeling truly selfish and cruel when he remembered those desperate conversations. His parents and sister openly talked to him again with his return to the Catholic Church, and despite their disapproval of his life as a soldier. It would take time, both for him to learn to be a father and for his family to fully accept his choices, but he was ready for those struggles. 

_You’re almost there._

He accepted the reality that there would always be blood on his hands in the name of redeeming himself. It would never be enough until death took him, reminding himself of the pain he caused his family when the voice started telling him to stop and rest. Forgiveness was in God’s heart, as Bertrand reminded him constantly, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop now. He couldn’t accept it when he had nearly lost so much. 

_But you’ve gotta keep fighting._

Truth or Consequences was the next calamity, infested with a terrible and mysterious disease turning those infected into mindless monsters. He had never seen anything like it. Nothing before had seemed so alien, so hellish. 

_Gotta stay prepared._

Jäger’s been shot down, he’s told. In the middle of a dangerous zone like the roadside store, that was close to a death sentence. The very real threat of losing Jäger never left his mind, fighting back the surging fear that he would be too late, or having to choose between the operators fighting alongside him and the injured pilot. He couldn’t think about it, couldn’t let his mind stray where it wished. He moved quickly, focusing on rationality and keeping his fellows with him in that moment safe while trying everything he could to ensure as few casualties as possible. 

_You can’t be afraid if you wanna be great._

With the extraction successful, the focus shifted to finding and extracting Dr. Mackintosh. It was easier to be calmer, he didn’t know her personally like he knew the German operator. However, she could have a cure, and that was too vital to let slip. How many lives could be saved if she had one? How much sooner would this tragedy be over for the people who hadn’t at all deserved this? 

_Gotta give it all before it’s too late._

The source of it all seemed unimpressive, a strange shell where something had clearly gotten out. The importance of Patient Zero was undeniable in fighting any epidemic, yet this seemed better. Their success or failure decided the fate of the entire city, and Lion did not fail. 

_This is your moment._

His body ached, his chest felt light, and the voice in his head told him he helped save many people. Knowledge was power, and the only duty he had now was clean up. The worst of the people’s struggles were over, Truth or Consequences saved from complete nuclear obliteration. 

_It’s time for you to take it._

He and Finka were the CBRN experts of Rainbow with the most under their belts. They were the best of the best, and he saw no purpose in hiding or denying it. He enjoyed flaunting it, clear proof that he was excelling in his duties. Arrogance and confidence were easily confused, and it came to no surprise that he often brushed against others that mistook it. 

_You could be a hero._

Finka once said that to him, when he first received the invitation to formally join CBRN. Was that why she joined? It didn’t matter much, he supposed. Her reasons were her own, just as his reasons were his own. He stared at his reflection in the protective mask he commonly wore, studying his reflection. He was a much different person than years ago. He put the mask on and walked out of the tent, prepared for the next challenge. 

The feeling of heroism never came.


	7. Shake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friend and I heard Glaz's downed noises for the first time and we started talking, and then this was born.

The mission was incredibly simple. Glaz was to watch the exterior of the building from a distance with his scope and take care of as many hostiles as he could that tried to enter as the other Rainbow operators defused the bombs within. His breath fogged in front of his face in the cold night air as he nestled himself against the snow. He listened to their calls from inside the building over the comms, Thermite as casual as ever and only encouraged by Finka’s retorts. Blackbeard and Thatcher joined in too, much to IQ’s annoyance. 

Glaz himself stayed quiet, staying alert to any small change in the environment he was watching. His priority was always going to be on the harder to kill targets, both bombers and the terrorists that thought to bring shields along. For now, he waited patiently, listening as the team inside cleared room after room in their search for the first bomb to clear and eliminating threats like nitro cells that could be disastrous in the heat of the moment. For now, he watched through his thermal scope, calling out enemies that no one inside noticed. 

Thermite started setting up the defuser for the first bomb, giving Glaz time to slightly re-adjust himself. Against the snow, he barely stood out in the lighter colored clothes he wore. He was well trained in not moving; becoming as close to a statue as a person could. 

“Defuser down, get ready for a party.”

Thermite was always upbeat on missions, especially when he had the opportunity to utilize his Brimstone charges. Right on cue, terrorists starting closing in on their location, and Glaz started taking out the bombers that lit up on his scope. Blackbeard was keen on holding windows and shooting at any target he could find, protected by the shield mounted on his rifle. Finka’s voice was almost always the clearest, Glaz noticed, she was nowhere near as loud as Lion but her voice carried well. She could be just as boisterous as Tachanka, but Glaz appreciated her nonetheless.

“30 seconds left!”

IQ’s voice sounded over the radio, leading him to assume she was covering a doorway a ways away from the others alongside Thatcher. It was a methodical process, determining which figures needed a swift bullet to the head over others. Small details in a silhouette could mean the difference between letting a major threat get inside and shutting them down before they could be more than a minor nuisance. 

“First bomb's done. Got eyes on the second one, IQ?”

“Ja, I spotted it walking in. The hallway leading to it in the bedroom still has some nitro cells at the end of it.”

That was Glaz’s signal to get up and reposition himself, moving along the treeline on the hillsides above the lodge-like building. Kapkan’s words echoed in his head; repeating the stern lessons the hunter was keen on sharing in order to make sure none of his teammates made a wrong step. He stepped slowly and evenly, making sure his footsteps didn’t sink deep into the snow. He could only assume the team inside was moving, and made sure to pause and check every few moments to ensure he didn’t let them down. 

“Glaz, still watching over us?”

Finka’s concern hardly surprised him.

“Yes, moving to a better location, but still covering you.”

“Good, stay alert. We had a group of five run out on us. Not sure where they’re going, but I can’t imagine they’re very happy with you.”

“Noted.”

He took the moment to look around his surroundings, eyes intently focusing on every detail. He’s studied and painted enough forests and woods to know what was normal and what wasn’t, able to pick up on the slightest irregularity. The shadow of the tree not far from him was just a bit too odd, someone’s elbow poking out just a tiny bit too much. Glaz didn’t miss it. 

The first shot hit it’s mark; one out of five down already. The body hit the snow silently, alerting the others and making it clear that the element of surprise was lost. He took cover behind a tree, scanning for movement. He could see their vague shadows made by the moon’s reflection, unclear as to what they were meaning with their gestures but was not going to be taken by surprise. His grip on his rifle re-adjusted, pulling the trigger when the thermal scope detected the second body. His attention snapped to the other figure that moved, hearing their cry of pain as his shot hit their shoulder. Three more targets, and he had two locked down behind the tree as one tried to help their injured ally. 

He switched to his pistol, almost sure they were trying to get as close to him as possible and make his long-range rifle highly ineffective with short range. He could hear the chatter over his radio, the team inside clearing out hostiles and securing the area before they started defusing. They were close to starting, and Glaz sorely needed to get into position. He needed to take the two down; he couldn’t hear footsteps over the constant groans and whines of pain. He was faster than the other terrorist, pistol shot piercing through his neck and splattering blood against the snow. A second shot put down the injured terrorist, leaving one target alive. 

He didn’t waste time in moving, but not fast enough to avoid the shot grazing the side of his head. He blinked rapidly to clear the initial fogginess, refocusing himself. It was a matter of finding the one detail that didn’t fit in once again, confirming the sudden thought in his mind that this person in particular knew very well what they were doing and how to do it. 

“Glaz, you alright?”

Finka’s concerned voice caught his attention for a brief moment. They were wondering where his shots were, previously consistent and he hadn’t mentioned he met the issue he was warned about. 

“Handling hostiles.”

The answer would suffice. He couldn’t get distracted now, not when he heard the faint crunch of snow underfoot. The target had broken into a sprint, close enough to grab hold of his right arm and struggle for the pistol in Glaz’s hand. Hand-to-hand combat was something every soldier knew, and the motions came as naturally as instincts. His left hand clenched into a fist to deliver a solid punch to the other man’s ribs and force air out of their lungs. Cold metal tore into the fabric of his shirt, inviting the night air to chill exposed, bleeding skin. 

With the right twist, the attacker’s arm was forcibly snapped and his hold on Glaz’s wrist was released. That didn’t stop the blade from sinking into his side and being dragged downward and across his stomach. The butt end of his pistol was slammed into the other’s skull, stunning them long enough for him to put a well-placed shot between his eyes. Glaz took a deep breath, rifle in his hands again as he crouched by the tree and looked through his scope at the lodge below. 

“Almost done here, defuser’s got just a bit more time left.”

After ensuring there were no high priority targets slipping inside the building, he took another deep breath. The cold was starting to seep in and the dark crimson staining his clothes was much more prevalent than he expected. _This is bad._

Footsteps caught his attention. No one on Rainbow had left the building. He was hardly in a position to have another close quarters fight, and he stood out now against the white snow and it’s splatters of blood. His scope would help that problem, but he was keenly starting to feel the pain and cold more and more. The yellow silhouette flickered for just a moment, a brief outline of someone’s foot. He bit his lip, focusing on keeping his breathing steady. 

Pain ripped through his right leg as it buckled; he was watching the wrong angle. His heart pounded in his head, ever so clear about the greater and greater risk of blood loss. He could hear the steps pacing closer, voices over the radio sounding distant and out of place. _Were they saying his name? He couldn’t tell._ The elbow to his back forced him flat to the ground, biting his lip hard when his arms were forced behind his back and a sharp point pressed into his back beside his shoulder blade. 

The snow against his exposed skin made him flinch, but the firm boot pinning his arms behind his back held him in place. If the person was heavier, he was sure his spine would snap. Any words that might’ve come out of their mouth sounded foreign. _Was it?_ He couldn’t tell, pain blossoming in his back as the knife sank in and started carving along his spine. He couldn’t bite back cries of pain anymore, futilely struggling against the hold he was held in. 

_Bang!_

“TIMUR!” 

With the pressure suddenly gone, he tried to refocus himself on breathing and push himself up. He had heard Finka shouting his name, but he was _so cold and tired and in pain-_

Finka’s hands were abruptly on his arms, reflecting just how capable she was of carrying him if she so chose. He was aware now, as she helped him sit, how much he was shivering. The pressure on his leg made him squirm by reaction, now matter how much he wanted to control it. 

“Lera-”

Even his voice sounded strange, clearly strained and struggling. 

“Hush, Timur. Come on. We’re getting you to Doc.”

IQ, Thatcher, and Blackbeard stayed close, keeping the area clear while Thermite coordinated extraction. 

“Alright, on your feet. Let’s go.” 

Finka’s arm held his side, putting pressure on the injury as she supported enough of his weight to help him stand. He hated feeling so vulnerable and weak, steps seeming more mechanical than human as he stuck to the motion to at least keep moving. Finka would guide him on where to go, he knew. 

He did, however, almost trip getting into the helicopter. Finka was swift in catching him, only pulling her arms away when he was seated inside. Glaz was one of the more stoic members of the Spetsnaz team, Finka knew, and seeing him so clearly in pain panged her heart. She had known something was wrong when he didn’t respond after several calls. He was quiet, but didn’t outright ignore teammates on mission like that. She was thankful she decided to leave the building first, getting to him just in time to confirm her suspicions when she saw the trail of red blotches in the snow that pooled as she got closer to him. She was only thankful for his shouts of pain as evidence that she wasn’t too late.

The others were just as concerned, opting to give him space rather than crowd around him. Finka was the closest to him, leaving her to keep what injuries she could from bleeding despite the way Glaz flinched. Blackbeard was getting into contact with Doc, giving the resident Rainbow medic time to prepare himself. She sat close to help him warm up, hand pressing against his side. She caught his eyes struggling to stay open, accompanied by a quiet, strained breath. He was still shivering, although nowhere near as much now, but color hadn’t at all returned to his face.

“Stay with me, Timur. We’re almost back to base.”

He nodded weakly, shoulder flinching as Finka pressed her other hand harder against it. 

“We going to tell the other Spetsnaz, too?”

Blackbeard looked around the cabin, catching Thatcher’s nod. Before Finka had a chance to speak, the SAS operator started.

“Pride be damned, they should know. Also tell ‘em to let Doc take care of him first.”

She nodded, turning her attention back to Glaz. They weren’t far from landing now, outline visible in the distance. The others grabbed their things and got ready to hop onto the landing pad when they touched down, the ground rapidly becoming closer and closer. She could now see Doc’s outline, also catching the unmistakable figure of Tachanka running outside. The blades of the helicopter started to quiet down as the door was slid open, Doc taking no time at all to climb in and start checking over Glaz. 

“Lera, what happened?”

Tachanka followed shortly after, looking distinctly like he had just come from training. 

“He got ambushed by a group. Where are Shuhrat and Maxim?”

“On their way. They weren’t keen on freezing after being woken up.”

Finka scooted away to give Doc more space as he re-adjusted, standing and shaking her hands. They were still covered in blood, and wiping them on her clothes didn’t get rid of the stain. 

“Is he okay?”

“He will be, the wounds are deep but don’t hit anything vital.”

Doc made sure to clean the cuts, whispering an apology each time Glaz flinched. Fuze and Kapkan made their way over, messily dressed and clearly still tired. Doc barely acknowledged them as he kept working, bandaging every injury as needed. 

“He’ll need to rest for at least a week, nothing strenuous.”

“Thank you, Doc.” 

Doc stood, removing the blood-covered gloves on his hands. 

“No need. I trust you all will keep an eye on him.”

Tachanka nodded, patting Doc’s back a bit too harshly. 

“You know us well! We’ve got it from here.”

Doc nodded, turning to head back inside. Finka helped Glaz to his feet to start heading inside, flanked by the other Spetsnaz. 

“As concerned as I am for our teammates… Was it necessary to throw me out of bed?”

Fuze started, making Finka tilt her head. Tachanka laughed in response. 

“It wasn’t that bad!”

“You threw me nearly across the room.”

“I know I have quite the strength, but that’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not,” Kapkan interrupted, “And that is why I prefer top bunk.”

Finka shook her head and laughed, leaving Glaz to sigh quietly. He appreciated his teammate’s company, but there was no denying they were sometimes a bit… much. 

“It’s an important enough reason to be woken up in the middle of the night, isn’t it?”

“I also like not having bruises across my face.”

“No one will even know!”

Kapkan opened the door to their room, blinking at the realization now that Glaz’s bunk was on top. Fuze seemed to read his mind.

“You know, Glaz can borrow my bunk.”

Finka grinned, setting him down on the bed and grabbing the sheets still strewn across the floor. He was largely silent, settling in on the mattress. 

“Feeling okay, Timur?”

A quiet hum was his response, sufficient enough for the Spetsnaz. Finka let herself breathe a sigh of relief at the answer to her question, Kapkan already climbing back to his bed. Fuze wasted no time taking temporary claim of Glaz’s normal bunk, while Tachanka’s hand rested on Finka’s shoulder. 

“Up to join me for a bit of relaxing?”

Finka grinned, trusting the other two to make sure everything was okay. 

“This is a drinking challenge, isn’t it? You know I’ll win.”

“I remember differently from last time!”

“You’re on. I’ll be there in ten minutes, that way you can prepare.”

Tachanka laughed, turning to head out the door. 

“Don’t run and hide on me, Lera!”

She shook her head with a laugh, taking a change of clothes and heading off to the shower after a final glance at Glaz, satisfied with how he was sleeping peacefully.


	8. Sleepy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this as a gift for a friend!

Jäger was always someone who felt incredibly at home in a workshop, machinery surrounding him rather than the company of people. That wasn’t to say people unsettled him, he was simply more comfortable with things that couldn’t talk back, and more importantly didn’t take offense to how he was. It wasn’t surprising for someone to find him abrasive and unlikeable, but he didn’t particularly care. He was very good at what he did, and with most he didn’t care to change how he acted. It was who he was. 

Working on any simple project put him at ease. Even just planning things out, mapping out parts and schematics was enough to help him calm his nerves. It was incredibly easy to lose track of time, completely occupied by what he was doing and unable to notice when the sun went down and the moon had long since risen. It was how he ended up falling asleep on the table he was working at, paper sprawled across the surface as he slept with his arms crossed and his head resting on them. 

That was how Fuze found him, curious about the man’s absence all day. He was not a very sentimental person; not due to any lack of softer emotions, but due to a general uncertainty with them. He hadn’t planned on saying anything when he walked in, and he was glad now that he didn’t when he spotted Jäger blissfully asleep. 

Fuze walked closer, attention glossing over the various sketches on the table. He knew the way Jäger was sleeping wouldn’t be at all comfortable if he stayed like that all night, but he also couldn’t simply pick up the sleeping engineer and assume it would work out as he hoped. Instead, he smacked the table several times, perhaps a bit too harshly as Jäger jumped awake. 

“Scheiße! What are you doing?”

“Preventing you from complaining and whining in the morning. Your back will end up sore like that.”

Jäger now seemed to realize where he was, eyes looking over the schematics in front of him. Fuze found it funny, in an adorable way. He shook his head slightly. What was he thinking? There was a few moments of silence before Jäger spoke up again. 

“And what would you do if I just fell asleep again?”

Odd question. 

“I’m not sure.”

Jäger nodded with a hum, turning his attention back to the table and resting his head on it again. Fuze narrowed his eyes. He didn’t particularly want to let him do something that would only result in pain, but was it even his place to decide what was best for the engineer? He couldn’t answer the question. He took a deep breath. 

Fuck it. 

He walked over and grabbed Jäger from the chair, secretly amused by the surprised yelp. 

“Wh-what are you doing?” 

He couldn’t help the grin, this time.

“I’m not sure.”

“How could you-wait, that was a joke, wasn’t it?”

Fuze laughed quietly, Jäger over his shoulder shifting to look at the back of his head. 

“That was! Are you really going to carry me to bed?”

“It’s better than a sore back and neck.”

Fuze could hear the indignant huff, content to keep walking no matter what protest he might hear. He likely wouldn’t directly admit it, but Jäger’s comfort was something that was incredibly important to him, despite the engineer’s attempts to make regrettable decisions anyway. With one arm around Jäger’s waist and the other free to open the door to the German dorm, he quietly pushed the door open with his body and looked for the bed that was unmistakable messy. The other three Germans were out on mission, and Fuze could tell which bed was still being used despite the infrequency of it. 

He moved to make sure he didn’t bang his head on the frame of the bunk, setting Jäger down on the mattress. When he tried to stand up, he found Jäger’s arms still clinging to him. 

“Marius, you have to let go.”

“Says who?”

He blinked, heat rising to his face. He couldn’t have ever prepared a response to that. 

“The others don’t come back for a few days. I like your company.” 

Fuze slowly moved to sit down, noticing the redness on Jäger’s face as he adjusted. He couldn’t tell the sudden want to stay close was said in exhaustion or not, but Fuze could still tell the other was just as embarrassed as he was. At least, he thought so. Jäger kept his firm hold on Fuze, even as Fuze lay back against the pillows on the bed. He was the same height as the engineer, but quite a bit bigger and had no trouble with moving him around to make sure he didn’t sleep wrong on something. He let out a deep breath, both overjoyed and flustered to hell when Jäger’s head rested on his chest and he quickly drifted back to sleep.


	9. Close Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blitz and IQ have a close call on mission.

Clearing out terrorist cells was a common task in Rainbow, ensuring that there was no White Mask base getting too active or large to handle.  IQ and Blitz worked well together, both because of sharing a common CTU and language, and because of their strengths. IQ could effectively shoot threats that most threatened Blitz, and Blitz could keep her protected behind his shield.  It was no surprise to either of them to be teamed up and sent to clear a potential major threat building. 

The mountain range in the distance seemed so serene, she was almost envious about not being able to fully enjoy the view.  The U.S. had plenty of vastly different places, every mission in the States feeling completely unlike the past one. They were flying over mountains in Colorado, heading to a secluded house they were picking up concerning signals from.  The early morning sun had barely risen over the mountains. 

“You there, Monika?  Don’t daydream too much on me, ja?”

Blitz’s voice drew her attention away from the horizon.  

“I am not daydreaming.  I’m thinking about our plan of action.”

“When do we ever come up with anything different than our normal plan?  It worked every time so far.”

“You know, I’m having a hard time believing you don’t enjoy getting shot at, Elias.  I would think you’d want to avoid it.”

“Would you prefer to get shot at instead?  I have my shield to avoid getting hurt.”

IQ shook her head, glancing back to the horizon to check if they were close to the landing zone.  

“Perhaps if you stopped to think for just a moment, you wouldn’t have to be shot at.”

“That’s nowhere near as much fun.  It’s not like I go in naked.”

IQ simply sighed, grateful when they finally touched down.  Blitz’s gear weighed him down far more than the other GSG9, yet still took point to defend the others.  The house looked fairly unimpressive, albeit with boarded up doors and windows. Her scanner was up in an instant, already detecting a mess of pings and highlights on the device.  

“Be careful.”

Blitz moved slowly, waiting for IQ’s shots to take out the nitro cells she was detecting.  They could hear enemies inside the house, voices calling out and footsteps clearly rushing around on the floorboards.  When IQ moved her scanner elsewhere, Blitz took the moment to suddenly burst in the doorway and trigger the bright flash on the front of his shield.  The White Masks inside were blinded long enough for IQ and Blitz to shoot them before they could recover. The storm of noise sounding from different rooms of the house was enough of a warning that there were more targets, letting them fall into a familiar routine of clearing room after room with practiced caution and drone surveillance.  The basement was the last area to check. 

“I’m almost sad this party is just about over.”

IQ didn’t need to see Blitz’s face to picture the cheeky grin.  

“I’ll be glad to be done with this.”

Blitz laughed in response, heading down the stairs.  The room was entirely devoid of furniture or even anything concerning, making both of them suspicious.  IQ scanned the room closely, pistol ready. 

“Well, this is a disappointing ending.”

She didn’t say anything in response, eyes scanning every corner of the room.  The floor and roof was thoroughly checked, her steps slow and careful to not step on anything.  Blitz watched her from the center of the room, glancing around to make sure they weren’t surprised.  His attention narrowed on a crack in the wall, far too straight to be anything natural. His shield was up and ready as he slowly crept towards the crack, spotting a faint blue light.  The wall swung open away from him, IQ turning just as the bomber activated his suit. 

Blitz’s shots were aimed for the terrorist’s legs, bringing him down to the ground not far from IQ.  He raced over to block the blast, grabbing IQ to shield her from the worst of the explosives. The blast knocked both of them to the ground, Blitz on top of IQ.  After a moment of waiting, Blitz shifted to sit up and give her space. 

“Not too hurt, are you?”

She rubbed her head from hitting the floor, nodding.  

“I’m fine.  Are you alright?”

He stumbled to his feet, nodding.  

“Perfectly fine.  But, my ears are ringing a little and I think I might be leaking.”

“You idiot…  do you ever think before you act?”

“Sure, I think about my job mostly.”

She shook her head, standing to check his back.  

“Scheiße, Elias.  It’s bad.”

“It’s not the worst in the world, Monika.  I’ll live, but I would like to get back as quickly as possible.  I don’t think there are any more bad guys to shoot.”

She took one last glance around before helping him upstairs and back to the helicopter waiting not far off from the house.  She kept pressure on his back to stifle the bleeding on the trip back to base, keeping mostly silent. 

“Do you think it’ll scar?”

“I’m not sure.  Doc will know.”

“If it does, I’ll at least have a cool story to tell, ja?”

“You are unbelievable.”

He laughed, keeping quiet until they landed back at base and headed to visit the infirmary.  Doc was meticulous in stitching and bandaging up Blitz’s back and making sure the German knew not to push himself or pull the stitches, or else.  IQ watched from the doorway, arms crossed as Doc headed to his office. She sighed, walking into the room as Blitz carefully stood. 

“How many times will you end up here before your self-preservation starts kicking in?”

“Who else would save your ass if I didn’t?”

“I really cannot believe you…”

He gave a guilty grin, shrugging.  

“It’s just my job, Monika.  I’d say I do it well.”

“And if you get killed trying to be a hero?  Where do you think that leaves the rest of us if something happens to you?”

“Monika, this is hardly the first time I’ve done this, and it’s not the worst.  Why the lecture now?”

“That’s the  _ problem.   _ You do this so often, it’s going to get you killed and I refuse to stand by and let you risk yourself because you want to save the day single handedly.”

He took a deep breath, hands resting on IQ’s shoulders.  

“I’m doing my job, Monika.  I know my limits, even if I don’t seem like I do.  Besides, we’re a team. I know I can count on you.”

“Do me a favor and at least, show a little caution, or even ask for help.”

“I can’t promise I always will, but I’ll try.  I know we’re all happy to help each other out. Or, at least willing.  I’m not sure Dominic is happy about much of anything.”

IQ couldn’t hide the exasperated grin, shaking her head as Blitz’s arms returned to his sides.  

“What?  It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Maybe I should stick a battery on your shield next mission.”

Bandit’s voice caught IQ by surprise, but Blitz shrugged casually.  

“Am I really wrong?  You only keep complaints to yourself when it’s something serious.”

“It’s not my job to listen to whining about a papercut.”

“Would it kill you to at least be a little bit more cheery around base?”

“No, but I may end up killing you first.”

IQ let out a deep sigh, rubbing her face with her hand to hide amusement.  

“Could you two try not to hurt each other so soon?”

“No promises.  Watch your back, Elias.”

She turned to watch Bandit leave, shaking her head and walking out of the infirmary to get much needed rest.  

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting quite a few R6 stories, since I have a tendency to write things and not post them, ahah.


	10. French Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun lil thing about the French Attackers on a mission.

It was rare that Doc and Lion spent much time close to each other.  Twitch always noticed the tension, especially when Doc stopped by to talk to someone even near Lion.  It was the worst with Montagne, and she despised being in the middle of unspoken disputes. When Doc walked up to her, Montagne, and Lion, she couldn’t help tensing.  

“Good morning.  You three are heading out for a mission soon?”   
  
Montagne nodded, opting to speak up.  

“Yes, are you joining us?”

Doc shook his head.  

“Not today, mon ami.  I simply wanted to inform you about the gas weapons Valkyrie supposes they have stored there.  Be prepared.”

“As always.  Merci, mon ami.”

Doc was off with a nod, distinctly avoiding Lion’s gaze.  Twitch relaxed when Doc walked off, letting her pore over the details of the mission they were about to go on.  Lion and Montagne were far more casual in their chat. 

“We should be able to clear it out quickly with Emma’s drone, taking out hostiles as we go.  Not too difficult.”

Lion shrugged, standing as Twitch closed the folder and pushed it aside.  

“And I’ll have you covered, don’t worry.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time, then.”  

She smiled to the other two, getting up to fully gear herself.  Lion and Montagne were waiting by the helicopter, fully geared and ready to go.  Twitch was the last one to step into the cabin, taking a seat beside Montagne. 

“Remember to keep your eye out for anything.”

Montagne was always the voice of reason, and Twitch always appreciated the man’s concern for his team.  She constantly looked out the window, readying herself and thinking about several potential risks and how to fight against them.  The building looked appropriately like a warehouse, abandoned and decaying after years of neglect. Their helicopter landed not far off, hidden by trees and the high rising security fence around the building.  Montagne took point, followed by Lion and Twitch shortly after. The back entrance was open, only slightly, but gave enough space to sneak onto the properly without being detected. 

Twitch’s drone was ready in an instant, already on its way to scout out the area.  

“I’ll start heading in, stay close behind me.”

Lion gave Montagne’s shoulder a firm pat on the shoulder to signal he was ready to go, following right behind Montagne.  Twitch’s drone went in first, sneaking in under the barricaded door. 

“They don’t know we’re here yet, they’re not watching the door at all.”

Twitch navigated her drone around the warehouse to scout out as much of it as she could.  Montagne and Lion waited patiently, listening to her commands over their radio. 

“They’ve definitely got a lot of weapons we don’t want them having, most of them are ready to be shipped out.”

“Merci, Twitch.  How many are there?”

“Quite a few.  You’ll have two on your left and three on your right.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll take right, you take left?”

Lion interjected, gun ready.

“Easy, Olivier.  Let’s see how quietly we can get in first.”

“Preferably sometime today, you two?”

Twitch’s voice cut in, bringing out a grin from both operators.  

“You want to rush in against seven people, Emma?”

Lion was clearly amused, teasing Twitch with no regrets.

“No, but you don’t need all day, do you?”

Montagne shook his head with a grin, carefully undoing the barricade to not make any noise.  Lion covered him, listening carefully for anything that might signal danger. The barricades were gently set down, allowing them to look into the warehouse.  Twitch quickly joined them, drone hidden away and out of sight. 

“On my move.”

Montagne took charge, always calm and steady.  They made their presence known in a start of gunfire, hearing the alerted screams and shouts of the White Masks inside.  Their bullets met their marks against the terrorists, leaving the remaining hostiles to bunker down and defend themselves.  EE-One-D was activated as they scrambled for cover, revealing them and making them easy targets. 

“Looks like most of them down.”

“Keep yourself wary, Olivier.  We can’t assume anything.”

Lion nodded, moving with Montagne to clear the rest of the warehouse.  Twitch crouched behind heavy crates and started up her drone to scout the area out and find any remaining hostiles.  

“Right ahead of you, behind cover.  Bomber coming in from around the corner.”

Both of them listened to Twitch’s callouts, moving methodically through the warehouse.

“Everything else is clear so far, still looking around.”

Sudden gunfire interrupted them, alongside Twitch’s shout of pain and a hissing noise.  

“Emma, are you okay?”

Montagne was quick to speak, already moving to where she had been before.  Lion was over to her in an instant, seeing gas start to spill out from the crates she used as cover.  He could hear her coughing and could see blood start to pool, pulling her out of the cloud as Montagne’s shield blocked the incoming bullets.  Lion returned fire when they were out of the airborne danger cloud, relieved that the gunfire stopped when he took down the last seen hostile. Le Roc was kept up, just in case, as Lion carried Twitch outside.  Her right shoulder was bleeding, yet he couldn’t see anything else severely wrong. Montagne only lowered his shield when they got outside, sneaking out of the fence to where the helicopter was hidden away. 

“Coming back, ETA under a minute.”

“Hear you loud and clear, Monty.”

The pilot’s voice betrayed his youth, a man eager to perform his best.  

“I’m okay, Olivier, I’m okay.”

Lion was tending to injury as she caught her breath.

“Let’s get back as soon as we can, Olivier.  Doc can look over her then.”

Lion nodded, helping Twitch to her feet and heading to the helicopter.  Montagne didn’t let out a sigh of relief when they got into the cabin, making sure to grab Twitch’s drone before getting in.  

“Are you sure you’re okay, Emmanuelle?”

Twitch nodded.  

“It’s not serious, I promise.  No need to pull the full name treatment on me, you know.”

Lion and Montagne both laughed, the latter patting her uninjured shoulder gently.  

“Just glad you’re safe, mon amie.”

Twitch nodded, wincing slightly as Lion kept pressure on her shoulder.  She stayed quiet as they flew back, eager to see Doc and get the gunshot properly treated.  


	11. Solitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A thing based off a random word prompt. The word was 'solitude'.

Buck was well used to silence and solitude, especially after missions late at night.  It was nice when he was tired of watching his words, staying careful to not say the wrong thing to the wrong person.  Not everyone they worked with were happy about Rainbow involvement, or even liked them much, and they didn’t often appreciate blunt truths on top of it.  The important parts were always the mission’s success and his team’s safety, and he couldn’t complain when everything went well. 

There was something relaxing about spending time outside, even in the cold.  Whether it was because it reminded him of home or because most people didn’t often like the cold, he wasn’t sure.  He did know, however, that he enjoyed the chill and peace he found. His cheeks were flushed as the cool breeze blew in his face, arms crossed over the rooftop railing.  

“Mind company?”

Frost’s voice surprised him, turning his head quickly to look at her.  He waved her over, smiling when he recognized his teammate. 

“Don’t mind at all, Tina.”

She walked up to the railing, staring over the edge of the rooftop.  

“Rough mission?”

“Mission was great, it’s the people we have to deal with.”

She laughed, nodding in understanding.  

“One of those guys, then.  At least you didn’t take his head off.”

“It was a very tempting idea though, if I’m being honest.”

He shook his head with a grin, Frost leaning back against the railing.  

“Still good you didn’t.  I’d hate to see you get arrested.  You’d be moping about being locked up for more than a day.”

“I wouldn’t get arrested, and I don’t mope.”

He still laughed at the teasing, turning his attention to Frost’s knowing gaze.  

“Come on, Sèb.  You’re really an open book.”

“I’m not that easy to read, am I?”

“You kind of are.  But that’s not a bad thing, either.  It’s really easy to find out what you think just based on your reaction.  And you do get mopey when you haven’t been outside in awhile.”

He laughed as he shook his head. 

“I guess I’ll take that as a good thing.  But I’m not  _ that _ mopey.”

Frost tilted her head, lightly smacking Buck’s arm.  

“You are.  You always look out the nearest window like you just wanna jump out of it when you’ve been inside too long.  You planning on sitting out here all night?”

Buck opened his mouth to retort, eventually giving up with a sigh.  He shook his head again, looking over the railing again. 

“Not all night, just for a bit.  I need to sleep, too. And I’m not doing that out here, I really don’t wanna get sick.”

Frost crossed her arms and quietly stared at Buck, making him look over when she stayed silent.  

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.  You just seem really homesick.”

“...Maybe a little.”

She shrugged, leaning her back against the railing.  

“Can’t blame you for that.  Nothing like home, right? Even with all the different kind of places we’ve seen.”

Buck nodded as he stretched his arms out.  

“Yeah, maybe I’ll ask for some leave to go out camping again back home.  Would be a nice break.”

Frost patted Buck’s shoulder as she pushed herself off the rail.  

“If you do, let me know?  I might join you if you don’t mind having company.”

“Sure, if you don’t mind just bringing your usual camping supplies.”

“Since when has that ever been a problem, Sèbastien?  Just let me know what you decide.”

She headed back inside, leaving Buck to look over the surrounding environment.  The air fogged in front of him as he let out a deep breath, cricket chirps getting louder and louder by the second.  His gaze trailed up to the sky at the stars partially hidden by clouds, mottling the sky with shining patterns. He wasn’t sure how much time passed before his face started going numb, being his signal to head inside and get some rest.


	12. Shiver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a friend pick two characters for me to write, and this was the result :D

Lion did his job well.  He went into every mission with that knowledge, performing his very best and exceeding expectations.  IQ was hardly any different, he found, exceeding expectations for every goal set before her. He wasn’t that surprised to find himself on a team with her for a mission that could very easily prove challenging.  Most of his expertise was used for biohazard and containment, but it wasn’t uncommon for him to be assigned on other missions, such as clearing the area of hostiles. 

IQ was already annoyed.  Lion was not a very discreet teammate, with all the gear he carried and the drone always in the sky where Lion was.  The cover of night would at least help somewhat, but the bright yellow of Lion’s gear stood out like a beacon. And the cold certainly wasn’t helping, breathing fogging in front of her face.  She hadn’t thought of bringing a winter coat; the mission would be over before it was too much of a problem. Lion, on the other hand, seemed fine; the mask hid his breaths and the absurd amount of protection had to amount to something.  

Searching the area with her electronics scanner was a familiarity that helped put her at ease, scanning for danger that she couldn’t see with her own eyes.  She didn’t tolerate failure, and the scanner was always a tool that prevented it. 

“Stay close.  There could be traps.”

Lion nodded, gun at the ready.  IQ stayed behind him, sweeping back and forth as they walked.  The cabin ahead of them was their target, and they had no intel to go off of.  They were going in blind, and that was not a fact IQ liked to acknowledge. There was nothing pinging on her scanner until they got closer to the doorway, wires lighting up and revealing the clusters of Nitro all around the front door.   

Lion heard the ping of the device, stepping to the side to give her a clear shot at the doorway.  Extensive training had ingrained the protocols and procedures for various situations, and working with other operators was a simple task of adapting to their unique skills and capabilities.  Whenever the device on her arm went off, he knew to get out of the way and allow her to take care of whatever danger she found. Destroying the building wasn’t their goal, and leaving it as intact as possible was the best outcome.  

The pistol shots through the barricaded door were quiet, but still able to take out every nitro cell.  They listened carefully, in order to hear potential hostiles before heading inside. The few seconds of silence felt like an eternity, before Lion stepped inside the cabin.  He scanned the room for any movement, starting to hate the complete silence.  _ Something’s wrong.   _ IQ shared the sentiment, scanner still up as she checked every corner of the room.  

A brief flicker of light caught her attention.  A small, glowing trail lead downstairs to a basement, and IQ knew she had to investigate it.  This time, if there were any pressure pads, she’d be aware and alert of them. Slow and methodical steps down the stairs were accompanied by eagle-eyed focus, intently searching for anything out of place.  Wires crossed everywhere on the blue-tinted panel, but she was starting to find the source of the electrical mess. The large device at the back of the room was off, for now at least, but she had no method of disarming it if it started up.  

The shots ringing out above her were  _ not  _ a good sign, but the explosions only made it worse.  That combined with the bomb in front of her now beeping rapidly, she raced up the stairs to find Lion quickly.  Walls were in distinct pieces, floorboards torn apart by several explosions. Blood spattered across what remained, hoping it was only from the suicidal White Masks that they sometimes ran into.  

“Lion?”

“Still here.”

Hearing his voice was a relief, but a new sense of concern arose hearing the strain in it.  

“We need to go, unless you thought to bring a defuser along with you.”

Lion shook off the pain in his leg, scraps of broken wall embedded through his armor into his flesh.  Pain be damned; they had to move quickly or be caught in the worst of the blast. He shook his head briefly to clear his thoughts, following IQ closely.  The farthest room was the best place to be in while working on getting out, doorway barricaded as much as possible. The hissing sound was not what either of them expected, but Lion knew the sound well.  His mask kept him safe from the gas spilling into every room, but IQ didn’t have anything of the sort. The coughing was the clearest indication of that. 

He took a deep breath, taking his mask off and holding it to her face.  The straps that kept it on wouldn’t fit around her helmet, and for now they needed to get out without too much damage.  He lifted the window and guided her out, letting out air he was holding in. He struggled to get through himself, wincing in pain as the fragments of wall scraped along the windowsill.  Once free, he let himself breathe and now focused on getting both of them away from the building. The cold air stung, but it was a far better alternative than the cabin’s contaminated air.  

When IQ finally caught her breath, she handed the mask back to him.  Her lungs still hurt and her throat burned, but she would recover. 

“Thank you, Olivier.”

He nodded once to acknowledge her, then activated his drone to scan for movement nearby.  When it didn’t pick up anything, he was at least somewhat relieved. The trail of red on the ground was faint, but both he and Monika spotted it.  

“Scheiße, Olivier..  Sit still.”

She never expected to be grateful for the absurd amount of  _ things  _ he carried, including the supplies she needed to stop him from bleeding out and a cooled blood bag if necessary.  He steeled himself each time she yanked a fragment out of his right leg, stifling the urge to shout or to try and take care of it himself.  It was better for her to take care of the injuries, to apply as much pressure as necessary despite the pain.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize it was this bad.”

He shook his head.  Both of them focused on the mission, and the immediate bomb threat had taken precedence over anything else.  His injuries wouldn’t have mattered if a fiery explosion had ended them right then and there. 

“I’m fine.  Getting out was more important.”

He winced at the tightness of the bandages, keeping himself from jerking his leg each time he felt the urge.  The cold was hardly helping, seeping in through his gear the more he sat still. He forced himself to stand when Monika got up, keeping his weight off his right leg as he moved to warm himself up.  She was already contacting base, giving an update on their mission. An extraction shouldn’t be too far, but still far enough that they would have to wait. 

“We have fifteen minutes before evac.  They’ll be landing as close as they can, but our best shot is up that hill.”  

He nodded again, trying to ease himself onto standing more on his right leg.  He couldn’t hide the hesitance from Monika’s intensely watchful gaze. 

“Do not try to push yourself.  I will help you, if you can swallow your pride and accept it.”

_ Perhaps she is very used to stubborn teammates.   _

“I can, Monika.  I simply know I carry a lot of weight on me.”

“Too much, but it does help to be prepared, doesn’t it?”

He nodded again, starting to walk with Monika’s help.  The hill wasn’t extremely steep, but walking with an injured leg was already a struggle in itself, and going uphill wasn’t any easier.  It wasn’t, however, the hardest thing he had ever done. The top of the hill was clear enough for a landing zone, and the only hard part was waiting.  The moon was well hidden behind clouds, but Monika knew it was late, and the cold breeze picking up was starting to make her shiver. As much as she wanted to hide it, Lion didn’t miss the small movements.  

“Come here, you’re shivering.”

“I will be fine, we don’t have that much longer to wait.”

“You would rather get sick than swallow your pride?”

“Do not turn my own words against me, Flament.”

“But it’s true.”

She sighed, walking over to stand next to Olivier.  She couldn’t deny that he was far warmer than she expected, even if it was because of the amount of protective gear he wore.  Rubbing her hands together quickly to generate heat, she pressed her hands to her cheeks to get some warmth in her face. Neither of them made any effort to speak until the hum of the helicopter blades started in the distance.  The EE-One-D’s flashing lights overhead was the best indication of their position, hum turning into a roar as the helicopter landed. 

She wasted no time in getting in, making sure Olivier was right behind her.  Jäger’s familiar helmet was visible over the seat, only confirming it was him when he leaned over to look at both of them.  

“Es verletzt mich dass du mir nicht von deinem Freund erzählt hast.”

“Open your mouth again and I will throw you out and pilot this myself.”

He simply laughed, focusing again on the skies and not quite grasping how serious Monika was.  Olivier tilted his head, wondering if she could actually pilot the helicopter alone. He settled into the seat, quietly waiting to land at base and get his leg properly seen to and not earn the ire of the woman sitting next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The german text says "I'm hurt you didn't tell me about your boyfriend".


	13. Nightmare in Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation Chimera is hard for some to forget.

Jäger now knew the shrill screeching of tearing metal and the harsh stench of burning oil mixing with blood well.  He hated it, pain and the disgusting feeling of fear radiating throughout his body. There was also the distinct feelings of shame and embarrassment, born from having to call for help after being shot down.  He barely had the strength to pull himself out of the burning wreck that he should never have even been in, he was one of the  _ best  _ and strove to show it.  It had provided some cover from the twisted monsters all around him, but he wasn’t keen on suffocating or burning to death inside.  He hated how entirely helpless he was, forced to sit and wait and simply  _ pray _ he wasn’t found by the roaches.  

His head was pounding, mind racing as everything around him seemed to slow to a halt.  His leg hurt with every beat of his heart, but he didn’t dare think about moving. Growls and cries of the roaches drowned out every other noise, not needing to see them to know they were quite literally crawling everywhere in search of the faintest signs of life.  Rainbow had to be coming soon, there was no way they’d leave him to die and there was no way he could hold out for too much longer alone. He swore he heard gunfire, only confirmed by the screeches that faded in the distance as the roaches found new targets. 

He was nowhere near safety, he could still hear them all around him.  Their chatter nearly drowned out the sounds of his teammates, even if he couldn’t clearly tell what they were saying.  His head was pounding harder as blood rushed faster with his faster heartbeat. He had to not panic, to stay calm and wait, yet the feeling quickly eased it’s way to the pit of his stomach and constricted his chest.  The screeches had died down outside, gunfire alongside it. The silence was eerie, and enough to strike more fear into him.  _ Where were they?   _

His eyes widened when he opened his mouth to shout, yet no sound came out.   _ Am I deaf, or am I not speaking?   _ No, he could still hear the crackling fire.   Rainbow should  _ be  _ here, yet they weren’t and he couldn’t even cry out for help.   _ They wouldn’t have just left.  They’d never, Doc will kill them for it.   _ He was outright panicking, barely aware of the fact as the fire inched closer and closer.  He was trying anything to move, even the  _ slightest _ bit to get started, to drag himself to them if they weren’t coming to him.  Yet nothing responded, he couldn’t move and he was faced with the reality that he was going to die, either in a burnt crisp or snuffed of life by suffocation or torn apart if the roaches came back and saw his futile struggles, he was going to be forgotten and buried under the wreckage and found as only pieces of who he was and they were only going to remember his failure and what he could be-

“MARIUS!”

IQ’s loud voice startled him, widened eyes meeting hers as he took the time to realize it was indeed her he was staring at.  Blitz and Bandit were tiredly standing behind her in casual, loose fitting clothes. His blank expression was IQ’s signal to continue talking.  

“You’re at base.  You started screaming and thrashing in your sleep.”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t wake everyone up with how much noise you were making and flailing like a cat in a bathtub.”

Jäger took deep breaths, hand wiping away sweat from his face as Bandit scowled in annoyance.

“Are you alright?”

He nodded to IQ, getting himself out of bed and gently pushing her aside.  

“I’m fine, it’s nothing.”

“That much noise is nothing?  You must be deaf. Elias sleeps heavier than a hibernating bear and even he woke up.”

“I am not that much of a heavy sleeper, Dom!”

“You are.  I’ve stuck ice cubes in your boxers before and you barely moved.”

“When did you-?”

“You can ask later.”  IQ interrupted, glaring at both of them before she turned her attention back to Jäger.  “You, obviously, are lying. So what is it about?”

“It’s nothing I want to talk about.”

“It’s about your bruised pride, isn’t it?”

Jäger grew quiet as Bandit spoke up, taking the silence as confirmation.

“I figured, you are the most arrogant piece of shit I’ve ever met.  Alcohol will make it worse, I don’t recommend that.”

He shook his head with a sigh, moving to grab a sweatshirt and loose pants.  

“I’ve been having nightmares for awhile now.  I can handle them. I just didn’t think it was getting worse.”

Blitz crossed his arms, leaning against the frame of the bunk bed behind him.

“You know you could have told us.  Or at least Monika, I hardly trust Dom to take care of himself.”

“At least I have a working self-preservation instinct.”

“In my defense-”

“Could you two hold off for five minutes?”

Jäger patted IQ’s shoulder, drawing her attention again.  

“It’s alright, I’m fine.  I just need to clear my head.”

“Not alone, Marius.  Doc would murder all of us if he found out we didn’t do anything to help, starting with me.  And I like being alive.”

Bandit grabbed his hoodie in preparation, Blitz with a classic cheeky grin.

“Don’t stay out after curfew, ja?”

“I will shove your head in a toilet, Elias.”

“I don’t know how I manage any of you…”

IQ sighed, rubbing her face as the other three laughed.  Blitz laid back on his bed as Bandit and Jäger grabbed their things and headed to the workshop.  


	14. Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lion is soft with certain people, and Twitch is one of them.

Lion had heard the team sent out to the colder reaches of the arctic had just gotten back, and while he was never too sentimental about welcoming other operators back, he at least wanted to check in with Twitch.  He had grown to sincerely like and care about her, not just because she had engineered the EE-One-D for him. He got along with most of the GIGN as well as Finka, and despite the rough times he's had with the Russians, he doesn't take it to heart.  He simply never expected her to be so invested in more than the drone's well being, constantly asking how he was handling with it and if there was anything that would make it better for him in particular. The question was never one he knew how to answer, but he always appreciated the personal concern.  She at least deserved the concern reciprocated.

Kapkan, Frost, and Buck were casually chatting in the commons, the first two having come back from the mission.  Kapkan had long been aware if him walking closer, he knew, but he didn't quite care to avoid the glare. 

“Have you seen Emmanuelle?”

Frost sat up, waving towards the hallway.  

“Headed right to the workshop, said she wanted to get back to her projects.”

“You know that's a very thin lie, yes Tina?”

Lion felt the surge of protectiveness he tended to keep quiet when Kapkan spoke.

“What happened on the mission?”

Frost had glanced over to Kapkan, then to Lion when he spoke.  Kapkan spoke up again before she could.

“Not injured, but definitely off.  I suspect she might have gotten sick.” 

“Oh, yea, she definitely caught a nasty fever.  I already told her to take it easy and rest, but I'm not going to hold her down and keep her from going anywhere.” 

Frost shrugged lightly, leaving Lion to nod quickly.

“Merci.”

He turned to head to the workshop without hesitation, leaving the other three to continue talking.  He knew where the room was, easily able to memorize the halls of the base and his way to the place where Twitch often deconstructed his drone to maintain its parts and put it back together again.  He had no doubts she could take care of herself, but he knew he wouldn’t entirely stop himself from worrying unless he did make sure she wasn’t pushing herself. He knew illnesses and diseases too well to recommend anything but dedicated rest,  _ not _ working on projects.

Either he was getting better at walking quietly, or Twitch was far too distracted to notice him walking in, and he opted to go with the latter option.  It was clear without a second glance that she was definitely sick, hunched over the table as she tried to keep herself working on a model of her shock drones.  

“Manu.”

She jumped at his voice, sitting up straight and looking over to him with a smile he could tell was strained, but only subtly so.

“Oli, is something wrong?”

He didn’t say anything as he walked closer, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead.  She blinked in surprise, leaning back away from his touch. She was  _ burning,  _ exhaustion showing on her face even if she tried to hide them.  Lion was far too skilled at noticing the small signs of sickness, although normally it was to keep people quarantined in crises.  

“You’re sick, Manu.  You should be resting.”

She shook her head, turning her attention back to the model.

“I’m okay, Oli.  It’s not serious, and Tina already told me to take it easy.”

Lion sighed, pushing the model away.  

“You should be in bed, Manu.  Not working on something and straining your eyes.”

She looked over at him again, quietly annoyed.  

“Olivier, I’m fine, really.”

“You’re trying to lie to a disease specialist, Manu.  It’s not working.”

“I’m sure that’s cheating.”

Twitch laughed softly, and Lion could tell she was hiding how terrible she really felt.  

“Come on, you’re going to bed.”

Before she could appropriately complain, Lion picked her up out of the chair and held her close to his chest.  

“Oli, come ooon.”

She whined, still burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck much like a young child being carried to bed.  

“ _ Merde _ , Manu, you don’t do this every time you get sick, do you?”

She shook her head, coughs interrupting her attempt to speak.  Lion gently pat her back, taking faster strides to her room. He didn’t particularly care what others thought about him, but he didn’t want to have her get embarrassed.  When he finally got to her door, he shifted slightly to open it without disturbing her too much. He took care to set her down gently, easing her arms from around his shoulders despite her attempts to resist the effort.  

“Don’t push yourself, alright?”  

Twitch nodded, curling up into a ball on her bed.  Lion lingered for a moment, taking a deep breath before sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Twitch nodded again, eyes closed as she scooted slightly to give Lion more space.  He moved to sit entirely on the bed, wrapping the blankets around her and scooping her into his arms.  He’d worry about medicine when she woke up. For now, he simply pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and let her sleep.


	15. Misstep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Doc/Montagne story!

It was common for Doc to push himself in his endeavors for the sake of others, far more willing to tire himself out than risk someone else.  He could hardly ever be upset for being woken up if it was an urgent matter that needed his attention, vastly preferring minimal sleep compared to a gravely injured operator’s condition getting worse.  When it came to people asking him for help, he rarely found himself saying no. That was how he found himself on this mission, in Brazil in the midst of what he  _ swore  _ was a heatwave.  

 

The heat wasn’t helping the tired feeling he fought back, forcing him to drink coffee with no regard as to how it tasted so long as it did it’s job.  The mission wasn’t expected to be particularly heavy with hostiles, but his medical expertise was going to be needed. Several hostages were being held in buildings teeming with nitro cells.  IQ and Montagne were joining him, surveillance reporting only a few terrorists checking around the makeshift bunker that resided near a cliff overlooking the sea. 

They were heading out as soon as possible, early in the morning before the sun had even risen.  Doc made sure to check over all of his gear, in case anything wasn’t in working order and needed to be replaced or fixed.  When he was satisfied, he walked out of the temporary base and joined his teammates at the helipad. Montagne and IQ were already there, simply waiting for him.  

“Let’s do this quickly, I don’t want to waste time.”

Despite IQ’s statement, Doc knew it wasn’t out of annoyance.  The faster they got to work, the faster they could get innocent people out of harm’s way.  

“Stay behind me and we should be able to handle this with no problems.”

Doc nodded to Montagne, waiting quietly for them to reach the location.  He knew his part of the mission, making sure the people they saved weren’t hurt and helping them if they were.  The helicopter took off again after they landed, moving to a hidden spot to await the signal for extraction. IQ’s scanner was up in an instant, staying behind Montagne’s shield as they moved towards the door.  Doc kept himself ready in case they ran into hostile targets and IQ’s pistol was not enough firepower to handle them. 

The routine wasn’t new to either of them, Montagne making sure if there were explosives in a spot where IQ couldn’t reach them, the blast didn’t do more than shake him and rattle his shield.  The reinforced walls they came across were an indication they were close to something the terrorists were keen on keeping them away from. The shield easily broke through the wooden barricades for the door, Doc instantly hearing the metallic clanks of bullets smacking harmlessly into the shield itself.  

Bullets met their marks, Doc moving in when IQ cleared the room of remaining explosives to help the hostage inside.  He nodded to his teammates as they moved on; he’d be fine on his own. 

“Don’t worry, you will be alright.”

The woman was fine, only a few bruises that would be tender but nothing serious.  He let out a sigh of relief, helping her to her feet. 

“Come with me, quickly.”

He gently grabbed her arm and guided her outside, listening to the voices of IQ and Montagne as they cleared other rooms as well as around himself, just in case there was a hidden threat that had been missed before.  He knew where the helicopter had landed, not far off but well out of sight. The cliffside had a beautiful view, but Doc knew he couldn’t linger. He removed the tape and bindings from the woman, guiding her into the helicopter.  

“Wait here, we’ll be back soon to get you home.”

She nodded, leaving Doc to turn and make his way back to the building.  Doc could clearly tell where they had already been, catching up to them in a narrow hallway lined with explosives.  

“We’ve got two more to get out of here, whatever the Masks were working on here was serious, and they weren’t keen on doing it themselves.”

IQ didn’t even look back to him as she kept scanning, constantly switching her attention between that and her deployed drone.  Montagne stood patiently, making sure he was between her and any potential danger. 

“I see no hostiles, let’s go.”

Montagne moved forward, letting IQ’s pistol take care of the nitro cells.  Doc could see the other two hostages, in much worse condition than the first.  He didn’t waste any time, checking them over and doing what he could to ease their pain before moving them.  

“We should get going now, make sure these people get the attention they need.”

Doc stood, letting IQ take the other man and start heading to the helicopter.  They would be fine, Doc knew, simply bruised and beat up but nothing lethal or particularly serious enough to require more than a bit of rest.  The pilot started up the engine when he saw them approach, blades whirring louder as they sped up. 

Doc heard the bang even over the sound of the helicopter, rushing the man into the cabin and turning around to try and spot where it had come from.  Montagne and IQ heard it too, based off of how IQ pulled up her gun and Montagne extended his shield. Doc’s concern was on his teammates and the people inside the helicopter; they needed to get out.  He got into the cabin, trying to shout above the noise. 

“Let’s go!”

IQ briefly glanced over her shoulder, taking careful steps back before she climbed inside.  Montagne was the last one, nodding in thanks when Doc helped him up. The pilot took the moment to ascend into the air, eager to fully extract.  IQ scanned the horizon behind the shield, no longer extended but still covering most of her body. Doc was taking care of the hostages, cleaning cuts and bandaging them up.  

“It will be alright, I promise.”

His attention was torn away when he heard a second shot, flying dangerously close to his head.  The helmet would protect him from most of the damage, he knew, but he still got up to take several steps back and out of direct line of sight.  His heart jumped when his foot didn’t hit solid ground, realizing that he had taken a step too far and stumbled on open air. He couldn’t help the yelp of surprise, grabbing onto the foot step to avoid falling.   _ Don’t look down.   _

“Gustave!”

Montagne had instantly darted his attention when Doc screamed, moving to grab him.  IQ would be fine, she had worked with him enough to know his tendencies. He wasn’t a person who let someone be in danger if he could help.  

“I’ve got you, mon ami!”

He grabbed Doc’s arm, pulling him back into the helicopter when he saw the splatter of blood and heard Doc scream.  Another shot from IQ rang out before he heard her voice. 

“Hostile down!"

Montagne didn’t need to look for long to see Doc’s leg had been shot, bullet piercing through the armor and into his thigh.  

“Heading back to base soon, only a few minutes out.”

The pilot’s voice cut in over the noise, reassuring them it wouldn’t be much longer.  Doc winced at the pressure, recollecting himself. 

“I’m fine.”  

It wasn’t directed at Montagne, and they both knew it.  He’d be fine until they got back to base, where they could properly look at it.  An epinephrine shot from his stim pistol slowed the bleeding enough for it nearly stop entirely with the consistent pressure.  The silence was near awkward, no one breaking the silence until they touched down. IQ took the lead, guiding the three civilians off to safety.  Montagne helped Doc to his feet, supporting most of his weight to help him walk and get to the medical bed. 

“Merci, Gilles.”

“No need, I’m glad you’re alright.  But, you should rest. And not just for a few hours of sleep and getting up to go on mission again.”

Doc was expecting that.  Montagne cared intensely about his teammates, there was no getting around that.  

“My help was needed, Gilles.”  

“You are straining yourself too far.”  

Doc sighed, walking into his area of the temporary base and grabbing the supplies he’d need to remove the bullet and stitch the wound closed.  Montagne instead took hold of the needle. 

“Let me, please.”

“Gilles, I can-”

“Gustave.”

He knew better than to argue with Montagne.  The proclaimed mountain could be just as impossible to move as one when his mind was made up.  

“I’m sorry.”

Doc bit his lip as Montagne started cutting the armor on his leg away to pry the bullet out.  Montagne shook his head.

“I just worry, you know.  I respect how much you work for the people around you, but you are just as important.”

Doc bit back a whine of pain when the bullet was pulled out, shaking his head and taking a deep breath.  

“I’m not putting myself down.  I’m simply doing my job and saving lives.”

Montagne sighed, carefully stitching the wound closed and making sure he wasn’t causing Doc too much pain.  

“Please, just take care of yourself.  You cannot do your job if you get hurt because of sleep deprivation.  You do realize you’ve been drinking coffee as much as Julien drinks water when training?  It hasn’t at all been subtle.”

Doc opened his mouth to retort, closing it when he realized he couldn’t exactly deny it.  Montagne cut the thread from the needle and made sure to tie the stitches, putting everything aside as Doc turned his attention away. 

“Just please, Gustave, take a very well-deserved break.  You don’t need to do everything alone.”

Doc couldn’t help but notice that Montagne’s hands were  _ soft,  _ especially on his cheeks as his head was gently lifted to look up at him.  

“If you need help, all you need to do is ask me, and I gladly will.  I’d prefer to share whatever struggles you have, no matter how painful or exhausting, if it means it won’t be as hard for you.”

Doc could feel heat rising to his face, entirely unrelated to Montagne’s hands.  It took a moment for him to find his voice. 

“I will, next time I need to.  I promise.”

If Doc thought Montagne’s hands were soft, his lips were even softer as a gentle kiss was pressed to his cheek.  

“Merci.  Now rest, please.  I’ll wake you if you’re needed.”

Doc nodded, watching Montagne walk out of the room and quietly close the door.  


	16. Brink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A longer, more graphic story I wrote based off[this](https://xmafiacatx.tumblr.com/post/178472989239/a-small-lil-comic-thingy-i-drew-thanks-to) by my lovely friend!

Fuze could hardly see, the dim lights further muddled by the tint of his visor on his helmet.  His shoulder was bleeding, grazed by countless bullets that his gear had shielded him from the worst of.  A simple mission of clearing out the abandoned offices should have been simple for him, cluster charges given full reign to cause as much damage as possible without endangering innocent lives.  The same couldn’t be said for the building, but better destruction of things that could be rebuilt in the end over lives that could never be put back together. 

Fuze had made a mistake.  He didn’t particularly enjoy admitting it, but the bullets flying past him and keeping him in place were clear indications of that.  If he tried to get up and run, or even fire back, he’d be an easy target. He had to find a way out of this, and quickly, before he got overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of his enemy.  

He took the break in gunfire as his moment to fire back, AK-12 familiar in his hands and taking down several targets before he had to duck behind the cover he had put together.  The situation was getting a bit more manageable, he just had to be patient. He made sure his knife was at the ready when he swore he heard footsteps getting closer, sound masked by the gunfire.  

Another break in the suppressing fire allowed him to stand and take down more targets, down to at least a more reasonable number of terrorists to kill before he was out of the worst of this situation.  The sudden creak of wood underfoot caught his attention; he hadn’t moved. He spun around to meet the aggressor, knife drawn and aiming for the jugular vein. He felt the stab in his arm, making sure to drive the knife deeper until the flow of blood coated the floor and every nearby surface.  The body fell limply to the ground, giving Fuze the opportunity to see what he had been stabbed with. The syringe was quickly rolling away in the pool of blood.  _ Has to be tranquilizer. _

_ No, no no no no- _

He couldn't pass out now.  The gunfire entirely ceased but he knew they were waiting like vultures, just beyond his reach.  He had to fight back the surge of panic.  _ Stay  _ **_focused._ ** He shook his head harshly, trying to shake the blurriness from his vision.  Whatever it was, it was acting quickly and he didn't have  _ time- _

Fuze barely registered that he stumbled to the ground.  He kept his hold on his gun, determined to at least fight back if they got overconfident.  There was at least three different sets of footsteps inching closer, undoubtedly aware of what their lone member had died to achieve.  It was a disgusting sacrifice that the White Masks made all too often.

When he saw the leg of a terrorist walk around the corner, he didn't hesitate in lifting his gun and firing.  If he could simply kill the rest of them, passing out wouldn't be that much of a concern. He could at least be sure in knowing that his team would grow concerned and find him, there was no telling what would happen if there was a terrorist alive when he passed out.  The sudden shout cut short from the terrorist was enough of an alert for the others still alive. He felt the strike on his shoulder from behind, turning around to try and pierce his own knife into the terrorist's neck. 

Another strike across his side made him stumble backwards, looking down to realize he was bleeding and that the strikes were stabs from the terrorist’s own knife.  His vision was getting more and more spotty, combining pain with panic as he finally slipped from consciousness. 

* * *

 

The harsh scent of burnt metal awoke him.  His arms were tied behind his back, shoulder wound no longer bleeding but still in pain as his arm bent further than he would've liked.  Fuze instantly knew his protective gear had been taken from him, leaving only his basic clothes and his helmet. He preferred it that way, not wanting his captors to clearly see his eyes.  He was forced onto his knees, skin and fabric torn away as he was undoubtedly dragged with little regard. There was no outside light in the small, damp cell, but he couldn't really be surprised.  

There was blood spattered across his visor, not able to remember when that even happened.  He was familiar with pain by now, biting his lip to stifle any sound of pain. The person in the room with him had clearly been waiting patiently, and didn't want to give that any satisfaction. 

“Rise and shine, asshat.”

The voice was alarmingly feminine, but distinctly annoyed.  

“Easy, V.  We just got started.” 

Another voice, this time deeper and more masculine.  He was clearly the patient one of the two he heard. 

“Yea, and I don't plan on wasting time with this.  We got pulled away from our-need I remind you, Jay- very important project for this waste of space.  We should just kill him and save ourselves the trouble.”

“Ever so impatient, V.  This won't be a waste of time.  Consider it a well needed break from that project.  We don't get much done besides destruction when you get frustrated.”

Fuze was starting to get annoyed.  These people were more than willing to bicker in front of him, uncaring if he heard.  Even going so far as to use their names, they had to be confident that by the end of this, what he knew wouldn't at all matter.  They would likely kill him regardless. 

“You know what?  Fine, this is a break from work.  But if  _ you _ -" she paused, grabbing the collar of Fuze’s shirt, “-don't cooperate, you're gonna have bigger fucking problems.”

She let go and stepped back, Fuze keeping his head down but moving his eyes to watch them.  Their masks were different, half white and half red with the sides alternating with each other.  The left side of V’s mask was the same color as the right side of Jay’s, ake vice versa. Jay sighed, crossing his arms and turning to look at Fuze.  

“Don’t worry too much.  This can go very simply if you work with us.”

_ Hell would sooner freeze. _

He refused to speak, staying silent until he felt a hand under his chin to lift his head.  

“I don’t recommend defiance.”

He kept quiet, narrowing his eyes at the man.  V was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and clearly annoyed. 

“Quit being nice and fucking electrocute him already, you damn electromaniac.”

“Patience, V.” 

“For what?  Rainbow shouldn't get mercy, they should be put down like the mutts they are.” 

Fuze felt heat rise to his face.  He hated not being able to fight back, to make her eat her own words and die with the knowledge that she was horribly outclassed.  

“Since my dear twin here is getting irritated, I'll speed this process up.  Tell me where the base you operate from is.”

“Go to hell.” 

“Look at that!  He does have vocal chords.”

“V, I'd hate to have to ask you to wait outside.” 

“Like you really would.  You enjoy having an audience way too much.” 

Jay laughed quietly, Fuze able to feel his gaze shift back to him.  

“So, no cooperation then?”

“Are you deaf?  Go. To. Hell.”

It was V’s turn to laugh, pushing herself off of the wall.  

“I'll go get your favorite toys, because I'm such a considerate, dear sister.” 

She left the room quickly, leaving Fuze alone with Jay.

“Truly, she’s quite lovely when she isn’t upset.  Best family I could ask for.”

Fuze hated them.  He wanted nothing more than to tear the ropes apart and close his hands around Jay’s throat.  He wanted to kill them both, make sure they never opened their mouths again. The door opened again, Fuze slowly looking over to see her bring in what he guessed was an electric cattle prod. 

“And you brought my most favorite.  Such a sweetheart, V.” 

“Only the best.”

She pat his shoulder, taking position again against the wall to watch.  

“A customized cattle prod, capable of extremely high voltages that are excruciatingly painful for human limitations.”

The device was turned on, crackling electricity audible before he felt it jab at his injured side.  He couldn’t bite back the screams of agony or stop himself from convulsing with the shocks. He wasn’t sure how long it lasted, taking strained breaths when it finally stopped.  

“Tell us where your base is, and this will stop.”

He was breathing hard, pain becoming almost unbearable.  _ Almost.   _

“Go fuck yourself.”

The prod was pressed into his side again, making him scream and jerk away.  V watched intently, waiting for Jay to stop before speaking. 

“Fucking bastard!  Can’t we just shoot him?”

“No, not yet.  Don’t worry, it will take some time for anyone to get to us, even with the very best after us.  We have time.”

Fuze bit his lip and braced for another shock, closing his eyes tightly.

* * *

 

Twitch was tired and worried out of her mind, but there was no way she could stop now.  Fuze had been MIA for a day now, and it was far too unlike him to simply disappear without a trace.  She and Valkyrie had made slow progress, only getting an area of where he was and no real idea of what to expect.  Valkyrie had recognized the area as an abandoned theme park, eroded away and repurposed now as a fairly large terrorist base.  They had to narrow down where he was, and make sure the team that went in avoided certain death that would await if they simply rushed in.  

That didn’t factor in the guilt she felt for keeping it secret from the others.  It was a delicate situation, and while she cared  _ intensely,  _ there was no way she was going to put others at risk too.  She dreaded the reactions of some of the others if they found out, especially Maverick and the other Spetsnaz.  They would be beyond pissed off, she knew. 

“Do we have a better idea of how many there are yet?”

Twitch looked over to Valkyrie, who seemed just as tired as she was.

“No, they know where the cameras are and shot out inside cams.  I have no way of knowing how many are in there, or even if they’ve rigged the whole place to blow up the moment we step inside.”

Twitch sighed, rubbing her hands through her hair.  

“They have to know we're onto them, then, and are buying themselves more time.  Still, we can't risk more lives if it's all a trap.” 

Valkyrie sat back in the chair.  

“We’re starting to not have much of a choice.  We've been at this since last night, and it’s nearly been a full day since I've even seen my bed.”

“I know, I just hate the idea of walking blindly into a trap.”

Twitch let out a sigh.  

“I'll see if Ying or Lesion know anything about it, maybe their home CTU is aware of it and has something they haven't shared.”

Valkyrie nodded, leaning back in the chair.  

“Sounds good to me.  I'll see if I can get something new while we wait.” 

Twitch nodded once and turned to the door, heart leaping to her throat when she heard footsteps.  She swung the door open quickly, seeing Maverick turn around a corner. 

“ _ Merde,  _ Erik!  Wait!” 

Valkyrie turned her attention around when Twitch sprinted down the hall, not able to speak before she was long gone.  

“Erik, just listen to me-" 

“A full fucking day, and neither of you told anybody.  You're happy to sit on your fucking asses for a  _ full fucking day?!”   _

He paused to glare at her, unbridled fury in his eyes.  

“Erik, just listen, we can't rush in without any knowledge- hey!”  

She grabbed his arm as he turned to walk off, yelping when his fist connected with her nose.  

“Don't put your hands on me!  Do you have any fucking idea what they could be doing to him while we're sitting here doing  _ nothing?!   _ I'm going to get our fucking teammate back.”

He left her standing in the hallway, delicately holding her bleeding nose.  She knew better than to try pursuing him again, instead pulling out her phone.

“Evening Manu, is-"

“Gilles, I need you to stop Erik from doing something ridiculously dangerous.  I'm worried he's going to go on a suicide mission by himself.” 

“I'm on my way over now, I'll make sure he doesn't.” 

“Merci.”  

She hung up quickly after that, heading to the infirmary.  She could take care of herself with what Doc kept well maintained in the cabinets.  She turned down the hall and bumped straight into Lion, walking far too fast to realize he was there in time.  Lion was one of the last people she wanted to see right now, knowing how confrontational he could be.

His hands immediately went to lift her face after he spotted blood on his own clothes and get a better look at Twitch.  

“Manu, who hit you?”  

“Olivier, it's alright, you don't-" 

“I don't need to but I will.  Who was it?” 

Twitch shook her head.  

“Please, Olivier, not now.”

He could see tears threatening her eyes, nodding and gently grabbing her hand to head to the infirmary.  Doc couldn't yell at him for going through supplies if it was for Twitch's sake. 

“Will you tell me what's wrong?” 

He handed the tissues over to Twitch, letting her hold them up to her nose to wipe blood away.  

“Fuze got captured.  Valkyrie and I have been trying to find him and the best way to get him out without sending anyone into their death, and…”  

She shook her head, taking a deep breath.  

“I'm so exhausted and being told that I've been sitting and doing nothing just…  hurts.” 

Lion nodded quietly, then grabbed an ice pack from the small cooler.  

“That's not your fault Manu.  You've been trying your hardest, like you always do.  We'll get him back safe and sound, don't worry. I'll make sure of it.”  

She nodded meekly, wiping her eyes and staying quiet.  He gently pulled her close in a hug, rubbing her back. 

“It'll be okay.  I promise, it will.  Take care of yourself, I’ll handle it.”

He gently kissed her forehead, reluctant to leave her alone but far more determined to ease the source of her stress.  He didn’t necessarily like Fuze personally, but he was still a teammate and Rainbow always stuck together. He took one last glance at her before walking out, heading to the room where he knew Twitch tended to be when working on intel gathering.  

“Emma, you get anything from Ying or Le-Oh.  You’re not Emma.”

Valkyrie blinked, staring tiredly at Lion.  He shook his head. 

“No, I’m not.  What do you have so far?”

“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of just heading out alone to do this.”

“Not alone, no.  But we cannot wait longer.  We’ll have to take the risk.”

Valkyrie nodded, getting out of the chair.  

“Plenty of hostiles inside, I don’t know how many exactly, but there’s a lot we don’t know.  I’d take IQ, Montagne, Zofia, and have Doc on standby. I’d also bring Blackbeard, he won’t quit with someone on the line like that.”

Lion quietly listened, already planning out who he would want to bring along.  

“Merci, we’ll head out with that team, then.”

“Good luck out there, I’ll be here if you need me.”

He walked out without another moment of hesitation.  Valkyrie would take the news to Six and the other operators, that they were going now and couldn’t wait.  When he got to the landing zone for base helicopters, he was surprised to see Montagne already there, holding Maverick in a bear hug.  

“Put me down, god damn it!”

“Erik, please calm down!”

“Not while one of our own is getting tortured!  I’m not letting that happen for any longer, put me  _ FUCKING DOWN!”   _

It was almost like watching a rebellious child being physically carried away from a toy they wanted, kicking and screaming.  Part of Lion understood it entirely, sheer rage clouding clarity and bringing personal feelings to the forefront of decision making.  The other part of him knew how dangerous that was in itself. 

“Maverick,  _ please,  _ just list-”

Montagne was cut off when the back of Maverick’s head collided with his forehead, yet his grip stayed firm.  Maverick was only slightly shorter than Montagne, making the effort of holding him still a struggle. 

“Olivier, could you-” Maverick’s struggling interrupted him, starting to seem more like a frenzied animal, “-could you get Seamus?  And possibly Alexan- _ Mon Dieu, Erik! _ ”

Lion didn’t need to stick around to do as his friend asked, knowing that Maverick wouldn’t rest.  Sledge and Tachanka were easy to find, and didn’t need much convincing to run to the landing pad and take the still trashing Maverick off Montagne’s hands.  It was a struggle for the two of them to hold him back, pulling him away as Zofia, IQ, Blackbeard, and Doc made their way over. Zofia unsurprisingly took charge, moving towards the helicopter.  

“Let’s go.  No more delaying.”

The others didn’t hesitate at the command.  Zofia was a very adaptable operator, capable of changing plans in an instant and handling near anything that came her way.  Doc sat across from Lion, arms crossed.

“I imagine you might know why the supplies in the infirmary have been thrown around?  And more importantly, why Emmanuelle had a bleeding nose when I walked in?”

Montagne’s attention snapped from Doc to Lion.

“Is she okay?”

“She refused to tell me exactly what was wrong.  She’s stressed over this situation.”

Doc nodded, attention being grabbed when Montagne spoke up.  

“She called me asking me to prevent Erik from doing something reckless.  You don’t imagine…?”

Lion muttered curses under his breath, already planning on the conversation he’d have with Maverick later.  For now, his attention needed to be on the mission. It would be a relatively long flight, and they had to be ready to move quickly when they finally got there.  The waiting was the worst part. 

* * *

 

Zofia had already decided on a plan, and there was hardly any swaying her from it.  IQ would check constantly for explosives and stay close to Blackbeard, while she, Montagne, Lion, and Doc would stick together and press forward.  IQ and Blackbeard could take spot and take care of other threats trying to surprise them. 

IQ’s scanner was up even before they touched the ground, detecting the maze of mines hidden under the ground.  She carefully stepped off the helicopter, scanning around as Montagne moved to cover her if anyone from the theme park was aiming at them.  

“There are a lot of them.  Step carefully.” 

They moved behind Montagne with IQ’s guidance, Blackbeard keeping his attention on the building to make sure no hostiles inside took shots at them with no returning fire.  The entrance of the building was boarded up, normal doors torn down. 

“When we’re inside, we go back to our plan.”  

Zofia quickly looked to the others, then to the door as she shouldered the KS79 Lifeline and blasted the barricade apart with an impact grenade.  Montagne’s shield took the brunt of the gunfire, allowing Blackbeard to easily take them down with the rifle shield protecting his face and Le Roc protecting his body.  

“We’re moving quickly, but not recklessly.  We’ll check downstairs first, since Valkyrie wasn’t able to get anything from his gear, it has to be below ground somewhere.”

Lion was content to nod and follow orders, trusting Zofia’s judgement and calls.  The woman hardly ever went wrong, and fought tooth and nail to make things right if they did.  Blackbeard and IQ stayed close by, checking around the area and covering their flanks. Their movement was agonizingly slow, nitro and explosives nearly everywhere and forcing them to take their time.  Lion despised it, also able to tell how irritated Doc was getting as his concern for their captured teammate instilled a special urgency that wouldn’t stop until they were back at base. 

The stairs down were coated in dried blood.  It was a morbid sign they were on the right track, but Lion would take it regardless.  

“Bottom of the stairs, tripwire explosives on either side.”

IQ and Blackbeard were above them, taking the opportunity to clear out the ground floor of hostile targets and still scan for threats from a floor above.  Doc shot the explosives, following down the steps. Even in the flickering lights, Lion could see the blood trail across the tiles. The surroundings were messy, things strewn about as if they had been searched for.  

“They wanted to make us waste time, so they could leave.”

Zofia simply nodded at Doc’s realization, eyes following the trail to a barricaded doorway.  The impact grenade from her launcher revealed the other room, beeping with idle nitro cells. The trail led to the end of the room, behind a sturdier door.  

“Those cells are close enough to get caught in the same blast and be destroyed with only a few explosions.  I can set them off safely.”

Montagne rarely differed, putting himself in harm's way so others didn't have to.  Lion took his pistol out of the holster and started taking out the further cells.

“For ones closer, I agree.  But we can take out plenty of them now.” 

All of the visible explosives were now gone, leaving Montagne to walk towards the incessant beeping and let the nitro cells detonate harmlessly against the shield.  

“That hall is all clear.” 

IQ’s voice called out over the radio, Doc taking the opportunity to move up to the door.  

“We need to get this door open.” 

Zofia set up the breaching charge on the door, planning to at least blast the hinges and get inside one way or another.  They backed up to let the charge explode, hinges coming loose and letting the door fall backwards. 

Fuze had heard the explosions, even with the overwhelming fogginess clouding around his mind.  The White Masks had left the room awhile ago, for some reason he didn't know. He was in pain and far too weak to keep himself upright, arms still tied behind his back as he lay on his right side.  The floor was damp-he couldn't tell if it was water or blood or both-and overall miserable. 

He couldn't even keep his eyes open, the pain in his stomach from hunger and in his throat from thirst familiar now.  He wasn't sure if he preferred that over the pain of electric shocks. The loud bang of the door hitting the ground was out of place; White Masks held the key.   _ Didn't they?   _ He couldn't make a sound as he felt the gentle touch against his neck, checking for his pulse, but he couldn't help the attempt to shy away from it.  A futile attempt, but he still tried. 

He heard a voice but he couldn't tell what they were saying or even clearly tell who it was.   _ It's familiar.   _ Familiarity didn’t matter; he wanted their hands off of him.  He couldn’t struggle with his arms behind his back as the person’s hands moved from their neck to the open wound on his side.  The pressure  _ hurt,  _ forcing a soft, strained cry from him.  He could feel his own weakness, could understand why it was so difficult to get his body to respond to anything he tried to do, and he  _ hated it.   _ Being entirely at someone else’s mercy only drilled the fact harder into his mind.  

He was at least relieved when he felt the ties around his wrists get cut loose.  The relief was soon overtaken by the fierce feeling of distress when he was lifted over someone’s shoulders.  Their grip on him was much stronger than any of his weak attempts to get free, spotty vision making it hard to see who it even was.  It had to be Rainbow, the sound of metal moving was a sound he was used to hearing from Montagne’s shield. 

Blackbeard didn’t have to be an expert to know Fuze was in bad shape.  Doc was rightfully worried, and stressed the importance of getting back to base as soon as possible.  He was more than capable of carrying Fuze, and was more than happy to help get him back home. It was a fast trip back to the helicopter, he and IQ had confirmed the rest of the building was devoid of any opfor.  Doc didn’t wait to start cleaning the bloodied injuries, despite Fuze’s struggles and quiet protests. It was almost a relief when Blackbeard watched him finally pass out; at least he wouldn’t be conscious for the pain of tending to every wound.  Blackbeard knew Doc well enough to know the man wouldn’t rest himself until he was sure Fuze would be alright. 

* * *

 

Fuze slowly opened his eyes, struggling to adjust to the bright lights shining above him.  It didn’t take him long to realize he was in the infirmary, beeps marking his heat rate. He tried sitting up, only gaining Doc’s attention and being gently stopped.  

“Don’t stress yourself.  You came very close to dying.”

Fuze let himself relax, body aching with the dull awareness of the pain he had felt.  He watched Doc look over the various instruments around the bed, preferring to stay quiet.   _ What was there to even say?   _ His stomach growled, prompting Doc to hand him a plate of food.  

“Slowly, so you don’t throw up what you just ate.”  

“I know.”

He didn’t like being babied, even if Doc only meant well.  He knew how to take care of himself, had dealt with his fair share of pain and agony in his life and this was hardly going to be the last time.  Doc took a deep breath, putting a pill bottle on the bedside stand. 

“If your pain gets worse, take two of those no more than every four hours.”

Fuze nodded again, watching Doc leave.  His phone was on the stand beside the bottle, and he couldn’t help the curiosity of checking it.  He had a  _ mountain _ of messages, every one of them concerned questions about how he was doing.  

_ At least I have time.   _


	17. Unlucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter does feature character death, based off this art [here.](https://xmafiacatx.tumblr.com/post/178455098089/took-some-time-for-me-to-post-this-one-because-i) There's an alternate ending that will be posted as well!

IQ was well trained for various kinds of missions, and was by far the best for neutralizing electrical threats.  Blitz, Bandit, and Jäger were just as reliable teammates, and she always found relief in working alongside them. The mission they had was simple enough; but all of GSG9 knew it didn’t mean it would be easy.  Jäger was often their pilot, able to secure and defend landing zones alone. The ADS was almost irreplaceable on missions like these, where speed and efficiency with little manpower was vital. 

The moment the helicopter touched down, IQ wasted no time in moving to action with Blitz taking point and Bandit close behind them.  The house was heavily fortified, swarming with White Mask terrorists. 

“Do you think the welcoming committee will have cookies this time?”

Elias had a penchant for joking around, making light of stressful situations.

“Could we hurry up the breaking and entering?  I’d like to be home at a decent time.”

Dominic had a matching penchant to make everything sound like an illegal chore he wanted no part of.  Monika could only sigh, pulling her scanner and seeing several pings at the door. She took position at the doorway, pistol at the ready.  

“On my mark.”  

Dominic and Elias nodded, rifle and shield raised respectively.  The pistol shots took out the prepared nitro cells, alerting the White Masks to their presence.  The flash shield blocked most of the incoming bullets, rifle shots finding their marks when flashbangs in the shield went off.  The rooms were cleared near silently, teamwork perfectly harmonized to each other. They knew each other well, and knew how to operate best.  Marius’ silence would have been concerning if they didn’t know him as well as they did; the pilot simply preferred not talking unless he needed to mention something.  

Their mission was to retrieve a smaller container, but still just as deadly of a biohazard.  The container was the size of a luggage case, and could easily be mistaken for someone’s vacation packing.  It was left to Dominic to carry, with Elias and Monika keeping an eye out on their escape route. 

“I hope you three are moving, they do not seem to be very happy now.”

Despite the severity, Marius sounded incredibly calm.  It was more than likely he was watching from a distance, making sure reinforcements weren’t undetected as they snuck in.  Dominic hurried as much as he could, groaning. 

“I might as well be carrying a body in here.”

“Just move!” 

Monika shouted, staying behind the shield as much as possible as she fired at the approaching terrorists.  The ADS’ littering the landing zone were promptly cleaned up and put into the co-pilot seat, Marius leaning against the helicopter nonchalantly.  

“You three took your time!”

He started to get the machine running while Dominic slid the suitcase into the cabin, getting in himself with Monika close behind him.  She fired at whatever target possible while Elias maneuvered his shield in first. 

“Move your ass, Kötz!  I don’t want to be here longer than I have to!”

“I’m not taking any longer than normal, stop whining!”

“I’ll stop when I’m dead!”  

They had to shout over the noise of the engine and the gunfire, Dominic dragging Elias into the cabin harshly.  Monika hurried to close the door quickly as they took off and avoid as many shots as possible, instinctively ducking her head when the loud  _ bang _ resounded over everything else.  She barely heard the soft thud amidst the rumbling of the helicopter.  

“Dominic!”

All at once, a pit of dread sank in her stomach.   _ Elias never sounds so panicked, or says his full name like that.   _ The door slammed shut, giving her a chance to look over.  Elias was leaned over the limp form, blood already starting to pool.   _ No.   _ She couldn’t help throwing Elias back to see herself, a distinct hole in the side of Dominic’s helmet.  His eyes were wide and unfocused, and the overwhelming wave of horror washed over her. 

“The asshole finally get shit on?”  

Marius’ voice shouted out, entirely oblivious of the reality.  His focus was on flying, he couldn’t have known, but the statement still stung deep.  He only looked back when he didn’t get a response, the hail of bullets finally ceasing as they got too far.  The red stream he saw was enough of an indication, making him realize just how accurate he was. 

“...You’re joking, right?”

“No.  I… will tell Six she’s down an operator.”

Marius leaned back in the seat, focusing himself on the flight.  He couldn’t let them crash, but the distinct feelings of emptiness and surreality weighed on him like the clouds around him.  Monika hated the silence. She hated that there was nothing Elias could say to bring them up, nothing that could be done to make it any easier to bear.  She instead sat on the bench in the back of the cabin, already trying to form a coherent report of the situation to send to Six. 

Elias was the one to grab a sheet from the back and cover him, trying to keep blood from spilling everywhere.  ‘ _ As much as it hurts, you’ll live’,  _ he told himself, wishing he could find anything to say to brighten the mood, yet there were moments he knew it was better to keep quiet.  It didn’t feel right just yet, anyway. 

* * *

(Alternate Ending)

_ Bang!   _

“Dominic!”  

The thud was barely audible to Monika above the roar of the helicopter engine and the distant gunfire.  She never liked the feeling of dread, and turning to see a limp Dominic on the ground did nothing to quell her fear.  The door of the cabin was closed at least, Marius wasting no time in getting away from the hostile zone. They had their mission completed, and the only thing left was to head to base.  Elias was leaned beside Dominic, ignoring the blood that was trickling from under the helmet. 

“He’s not..?”

Elias stared at Dominic’s chest, waiting for the eventual movement that indicated breathing.  Waiting for that was taking too long in the span of crucial seconds, instead gently pressing two fingers against his neck.  He let out a deep breath, shaking his head. 

“Just rattled, I think.  Helmet did it’s job.”

Monika sighed, stepping closer to see for herself.  The helmet had taken the majority of a bullet, the force more than likely only causing blunt damage rather than piercing damage.   _ Any higher caliber bullet and the helmet wouldn’t have made a difference.   _ She shook the thought out of her head, grateful that they had lucked out this time.  

“Marius!  Radio Doc and tell him to get ready!”

“Our resident asshole isn’t thinking of dying on us, is he?”

“I don’t think he’s doing much thinking at all.”

Elias grinned, knowing not to remove the helmet until Doc told them to.  The last thing any of them wanted was to make matters worse for their friend, and trying to get the helmet off could cause more unwanted damage.  

“Just radio Doc, Marius!”

“No room for patience, is there?”

She shook her head, attention focusing back to Dominic.  His face was strained, eyes shut. The rumbling was likely not helping whatever developing headache he was feeling.  

“Help me move him to the bench, Elias.  Carefully, we’re not going to hurt him more.”

He nodded, readying himself to lift him with Monika’s help.  The groan from Dominic as they moved him almost made her feel guilty.  Almost. 

“Now you know how it feels when you get on our nerves, ja?”

Elias grinned, meeting Dominic’s gaze despite how unfocused it was.  

“I  _ will _ shoot you.”

“I think he’ll be just fine, Monika.”  Elias said through a laugh, sitting on the bench opposite of him.  She couldn’t help but grin, not needing to see Dominic’s full face to know he was scowling.  His normal sarcastic would only get worse with the sort of pain he was undoubtedly feeling, but there wasn’t much he could say that would genuinely get on their nerves.  They were far too used to it by now. 

Dominic  _ hated _ the splitting pain on the side of his head, everything spinning and blurry.  He couldn’t think about walking, why did it seem like he entirely forgotten how it even worked?  It didn’t help his annoyance, clinging to the seat to not move around too much. Everything felt so fuzzy, almost like he was dreaming.  He wasn’t, was he? He groaned in irritation, closing his eyes. Keeping them open was a struggle he wasn’t in the mood to deal with. 

He had just gotten used to the constant rumbling and slight rustling when it suddenly stopped.  Movement around him was obvious, but he couldn’t be bothered to try and get up himself. Letting the others think he was napping was just fine with him, until he felt constant poking at his shoulder.  

“Rise and shine, ja?”

“Fuck off.”

Elias laughed, turning to wave Doc in.  

“Be careful, he’s grumpy enough where he just might bite.”

“Keep talking and I might have to, Kötz.”

“You see?  He’s okay, just upset over a nasty bump to the head.”

“I would thank you to let me be the judge.  Unless you’ve taken to medical studies when I wasn’t aware?”

Dominic could just  _ imagine _ the sort of guilty grin on Elias’ face, the kind where the man was clearly wrong and his jokes weren’t going anywhere.  Doc simply appreciated them in a different way, he found. 

“I take it that’s my signal to get out of your way?”

“If you could, please.”

The kind of niceties Doc made efforts to stick to were the exact same kinds of niceties he didn’t care to bother with.  If people didn’t like him, that was their problem, not his own. He finally tried opening his eyes to look around, instead met with a bright light.  His eyes instantly shut, near growling. 

“Are you trying to make me go blind?”

“How do you feel?”

_ Typical.  _

“Like scheiße.”

Doc nodded, carefully undoing the helmet.  The edges of the dent in the helmet had dug into the side of his head, leaving distinct bruising and small cuts.  His concern was on a potential concussion, which he was almost sure Dominic had received at least one. 

“Can you sit up?”

“No.”

Doc knew that Dominic wasn’t going to be extremely cooperative.  But, it was a sign that nothing was severely damaged. 

“Are you sure you want to rest on a bench in a helicopter instead of a bed?”

“...No.”

Doc grinned under the mask, gladly supporting the other man to the GSG9 quarters.  He nudged the door open, walking past Elias, Monika, and Marius. He only turned to them when Dominic was at least sitting on the bed.  

“Make sure he rests, nothing strenuous.  The worst of it is a concussion.”

“So, zip-tie him to the bed?”

“You even  _ think _ about trying that and I will ruin you, Kötz.”

“We’ll keep an eye on him, Gustave.  Thank you.”

Monika being the voice of reason wasn’t uncommon, and was sufficient enough for Doc to feel confident leaving.  

“So, how do you feel about bungee cords?”

“ **Don’t.”**

Monika shook her head, part of her wishing Doc had stayed instead.  

 


	18. Bleeding Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fic based off a sketch that xmafiacatx did, just like the Bandit story! (There is death in this chapter, you have been warned now.)

Doc knew this mission would be tougher.  It was rare for him to be involved in attacking terrorist cells unless the situation was incredibly difficult and injuries were expected no matter the expertise Rainbow brought.  The other team members comprised of the other French operators he worked well with, and Lion. He could manage with the CBRN specialist, the more important part was making sure no one on his team faced fatal injuries.  

Twitch moved her drone in first, working to scout out the building the White Masks were held up in.  The early morning sun shone over the roof, air cool against his face as he moved behind Montagne. The building was an obviously older one, a German clubhouse completely overtaken by hostile forces.  

“The reports weren’t exaggerating when they said there were a lot of terrorists here.  Not even two rooms and I’ve seen more than ten targets.”

Doc took a deep breath in, moving to where Twitch had position herself by the wall to give herself cover.  Montagne and Rook continued to the door, Lion positioned above them, preparing to breach into an upper floor.  Doc was prepared to head in through the window near Twitch’s position, underneath Lion and taking care of hostiles that might shoot at him through the floor.  

“On my signal.   _ Un…  deux… trois!” _

Montagne’s shield burst through the wooden barricade, instantly being the target of heavy fire.  Rook was able to squeeze the barrel of his gun in the small gap left between the doorway and the shield, taking out targets from behind safety.  Lion’s breach charge went off as Doc broke a panel of the barricade, firing at the targets who were more focused on Montagne and Rook’s sudden entrance.  Lion let out a breath after his bullets met their targets.

“EE-One-D is coming in for a scan.”

Twitch got up as Lion activated the drone, moving in with Doc while waiting for the countdown to finish and the scan to start.  

“Room to your left, Gilles, plenty of rabbits there.  A few coming down the stairs to your right, Manu. Definitely a bomber.”

Doc fought back a roll of his eyes at Lion’s avoidance in addressing him.  He and Twitch still moved to watch the stairs, hearing the beeping of the bomber’s suit well before they saw him.  Gunfire off to their left was the signal that Montagne and Rook were handling the other room. Doc heard gunfire above him, assuming Lion was moving through the upper levels by himself.   _ He’s going to get himself shot, or worse.   _ His attention narrowed on the stairwell when he saw the blue light of the explosives on the suit, opening fire as the figure turned the corner.  

Twitch was crouched in front of him, aiming well for the bomber’s face.  When he recognized the target falling, Doc’s aim switched to the terrorists on the stairway.  The gunfire above him was starting to quiet down, meaning Lion was doing a thorough job of clearing out the smaller rooms.  Twitch was back on her drone, Doc knew, spotting her drone moving past him and over to the garage. 

“Bomber in the garage, I’m going to check underneath.”

Lion kept carefully checking each room upstairs, able to surprise most targets before they could pinpoint where exactly he was.  He remembered clearly where they had shown up on his scan, still checking each room in case there were targets that had been sitting perfectly still.  It was a simple routine, one he was extremely well practiced in. The familiarity of the movements put him at ease, even through the relatively high tension of this mission.  There were many ways it could go wrong, he knew, many enemies concentrated in one area could easily mean trouble. 

The explosion downstairs caught his attention, Doc’s voice sounding on the radio before he could even bring his hand up to his own.

“Gilles, Julien, are you alright?”

Lion could only assume that was the bomber Twitch had called out earlier.  Rook’s voice sounded somewhat out of breath.

“Yeah, we’re okay.  Gilles’ got it covered.”

“Before you ask, Doc, I’m not hurt too bad.  Just a few scrapes.”

Lion shook his head.  Doc’s concern for others was admirable, he would never be so intensely caring about people the way Doc was.  But, Doc had a tendency to work his hardest for everyone, concerned at even the slightest show of pain from people around him.  He didn’t want his teammates hurt either, but he knew Doc was going to try too hard to save people and get himself hurt in the process.   _ Or worse.   _

He shook his head, finishing up his search of the top floor.  Doc and Twitch were heading around the ground level while Rook and Montagne headed underground.  

“Bringing in another scan, get ready.”

The EE-One-D started it’s countdown again, rumbling accompanying Twitch’s and Doc’s search through the building.  

“I see several in the basement, and a few in a room in front of you, Manu, but there’s probably more in there.”

“Got it.”

Doc and Twitch moved carefully, keeping focus off the gunfire downstairs or Lion’s movement above them as he worked to get back outside and join Rook and Montagne in the basement level.  Doc made sure to stay behind Twitch, being taller than she was and able to easily aim over her when she crouched even slightly. He had no doubt that the three below him were handling the sub ground level well, pausing when Twitch herself stopped to throw out her other drone.  He made sure to keep watch, covering her as she scouted out the details of the reinforced room.

“There’s a lot in there, at least six.”

Twitch got up and brought her gun out, quickly taking point at the opposite side of the doorway.  Doc stood across from her, wordlessly agreeing on breaking the barricade and crossfiring to cover each other.  Twitch slammed the butt of her gun into the wood, immediately alerting the terrorists inside. Bullets raced past them as they fired through the opening, Doc taking the opportunity to fire through the hole Twitch made and aiming at the terrorists he did see.  He didn’t flinch as the barricade fell apart, giving him a clearer view. 

When gunfire ceased, Twitch went back onto her drone as Doc moved to cover her.  The drone quietly whirred as it drove around the room, but Doc could see the light drone move around.  

“I think we’re clear, at least on this level.”

Doc couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief.  Stress had built in the tension of the mission, knowing they were vastly outnumbered.  

“We’ve got the ground level clear, how are you three handling-”

_ BANG! _

Doc felt the burning pain in his chest before he fully registered the shot going off, bullet piercing through his armor and chest.  Twitch’s expression had turned from relaxed ease to one of pure horror, staggering but still turning to the source of the shot. It took her only a few moments to spot the shooter and return fire, throwing her gun aside as Doc collapsed to the ground.

His mind was incredibly fuzzy, he could feel himself bleeding as well as the erratic beating of his heart.  Twitch’s hands were pressing down on his chest, quickly becoming coated in blood and making him realize he had been shot severely.  His own hand shakily reached to investigate, feeling Twitch reach for his stim pistol he always carried on him.  _ Large entry wound, meaning a high caliber shot to the chest, far too close to his heart for the stim to do anything helpful before he’d bleed out, he couldn’t hear anything but muffled and desperate cries and the oncoming pounding of footsteps as a group ran towards them, could barely manage breathing let alone telling Emma not to waste the epinephrine shots in an attempt that wouldn’t work- _

Twitch couldn’t help herself moving in a frenzy, trying everything she could to keep Doc with them until proper medics showed up.  Rook, Montagne, and Lion were racing in now, she knew. She had ignored their calls too much for them to not be concerned.

“Manu, what-”

Lion stopped, Rook sprinting past when they caught sight of the scene before them to kneel at Doc’s side.  Twitch shook her head, fighting back tears. 

“Gus, hang on!  Please, just hang on!”

He didn’t need to be any sort of medical expert to know the gunshot wound in his chest was most definitely fatal, too close to the vital arteries for anyone to get to them in time and be able to help.  Both of the younger operators were clearly devastated, Montagne taking a moment to recollect himself. Lion knew the oldest of them all well enough to know it was hurting him, too, but right now the Mountain refused to show it.  The gentle touch on Rook’s shoulder from Montagne was enough to send the younger man into unbridled sobbing, accepting help up to his feet. 

“Manu, come on.”  

Lion walked over to Twitch, reaching out his hand to her.  The amount of blood coating her hands would have unsettled many others.  She shook her head, adamantly refusing to accept the harsh truth. 

“No, we can’t leave him.”

Lion reached for her arm, stepping back slightly when she tore her arm away.  

“I said no!  We’re not leaving him behind!”

“Manu, there’s nothing more we can do!”

He stepped forward again, not stepping back even as she glared at him through the growing tears.

“Don’t touch me.”

He took a quiet breath, making sure his rifle was tucked away before picking her up from her waist.  

“Olivier, put me down!”

“Emmanuelle, stop!  Enough!”

His voice roared, out of concern rather than any feeling of anger.  The room grew deathly quiet, save for the sound of sobbing as Twitch calmed down enough for anger to fade and sadness to take its place.  She turned to wrap her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. He only had to look over to Montagne for the other man to understand, leaving them in the room as he gently guided Twitch outside the doorway.  

“I know, Manu, I know it hurts.”  

He truly felt sorry for her.  He could only imagine the struggles she wasn’t able to vocalize, the guilt and blame she felt at not being observant enough to notice the hostile outside the window.  He quietly rubbed her back and let her cry. Evac would be there soon, but he wasn’t going to rush her now. 


	19. Cheat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blitz and IQ spar, Blitz accuses IQ of cheating.

IQ always started her training routine early in the morning, getting herself going so she didn’t drag through the rest of the day.  That didn’t change even as her life did, and that included a newfound relationship. Blitz was more than understanding, but didn’t typically join her.  There were no hard feelings, she was far more of a morning person than Blitz was, and hearing him moan about the sun in his face was always amusing. 

She was almost always alone in the morning, unless someone couldn’t sleep or had come back from a mission in a different timezone entirely and wanted to unwind.  This morning, she was entirely alone, and took the opportunity to stretch in her typical green workout gear. Her headphones played her normal playlist, something soft as she started off that would pick up as she got into the more intense part of her routine. 

This was one of the rare mornings that Blitz got up early without being prompted to.  Both he and IQ were off mission and not assigned to anything anytime soon, and he wanted to enjoy the time.  While normally he enjoyed catching up on sleep, he wanted to surprise her. His plan quickly got sidetracked as he walked into the gym, watching IQ stretch and admiring her from the doorway.  She was too focused to notice him, especially not with the music playing. 

He calmly walked closer, tapping her shoulder when he was close enough.  She jumped in surprise, and he couldn’t help laughing.

“I did not think it was possible to scare you.”

IQ crossed her arms after she paused her music and lowered her headphones around her neck.

“I was not  _ scared.   _ Only startled.”

“Mhm.  I thought I’d join you this morning.  It’s been awhile since we’ve had the time, ja?”

“You mean since you’ve gotten out of bed before six in the morning?”

“You are so cruel to me, Monika!  I get up at a reasonable time.”

She shook her head, standing from her stretch to face him.  

“Not any more cruel than Dominic.  Go on and stretch so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“I expect it from him, that’s different.”

He started stretching his arms out, grinning at the way IQ shook her head.  She took her headphones off completely, putting them aside as Blitz started stretching his arms.  

“When was the last time we sparred?”  

IQ looked over to Blitz, shrugging.  

“I don’t know.  We can go a round, if you’re so inclined.”

“Just don’t complain when I win, ja?”

IQ rolled her eyes, making sure she had none of her devices on her.  

“That's  _ if _ you win.  Don't be so arrogant.” 

Blitz laughed, standing up straight when he was satisfied with his stretches.  He stood in the middle of the gym opposite of IQ, waiting for the signal to start.  She rolled her neck, getting herself ready to fight. 

“Maybe we should make this more interesting?  Winner gets to choose a place for breakfast, loser has to pay?” 

IQ shook her head despite the grin.  

“You'll claim that won't count if you lose.” 

“I'm an honest man, Monika!  I promise I'll stick to it. I’m ready if you are.”  

She nodded, quietly signalling the start of their sparring match.  She had to rely more on speed more than strength with Blitz, on account of him outmatching her in that department no matter what she did.  She was always careful in her approaches, testing his reflexes first. He was reacting quickly, the waking up earlier than normal clearly not fazing him.  

Blitz struck first, landing a punch on her side.  They tended not to go easy on each other, yet that resulted in inevitable bruises.  Her knee landed on his stomach, knocking the air out of him for a brief moment. She took advantage of it, dropping to the ground in an attempt to knock him off his feet with a kick.  He knelt to the ground before her landed, yanking her towards him and putting his knee on her stomach and holding both of her wrists to the ground. He leaned in close, grinning smugly.

“So…  this means I win, ja?”

IQ’s eyes narrowed, refusing to accept defeat so quickly.  She lifted her head to quickly kiss his lips, enjoying the way his eyes widened and his grip faltered.  With her hands free, she pushed away and got him in a headlock with her legs tight around his chest. His attempts of getting her off him was met with tighter pressure around his neck and chest, making him struggle to laugh.  

“ _ That  _ is  _ cheating. _ ”

“Enemies don’t fight fairly, Elias.”

“I don’t think my enemy is usually going to surprise me by being my lovely girlfriend kissing me.”

IQ couldn’t help but chuckle, loosening her grip at the clear admission of defeat.  

“Alright, Monika.  Pick the place, ja?”

“You know my favorite.”

He nodded, getting to his feet while carrying IQ on his back.  

“I should have known.  Next time, I won’t be defeated so easily.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, smirking.  

“I’ll have another plan then.  It’s good to be prepared for anything.”

He shook his head, turning to look at her.  

“I’ll keep that in mind next time we settle the score, ja?  I will win.”

She simply grinned, letting Blitz carry her to breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these two so much you guys, I'm going to end up writing so much for them.


	20. Idle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some JägerFuze set around Outbreak.

Being idle made Jäger uneasy.  It always has; he vastly prefers keeping his hands and creative mind busy, especially now that he wanted to keep his thoughts from wandering to places he wanted to avoid.   _ The crash, the stench and screeching cacophony-   _

He shook his head.  He was at base, recovering while the others handled Truth or Consequences.  He was clear of any infection, miraculously, but he still couldn't walk without someone else's help and he was not going to admit to needing crutches.  It was bad enough to have quietly asked Doc for sleeping meds, being unable to sleep for long before vivid images of what could have been his brutal, agonizing death either by roaches or a mercy kill at the hand of his teammates resurfaced.  He kept them hidden well. No one needed to know he was relying on them to sleep and stave off the feeling of genuine fear. 

There was only so much he could do, largely put on bedrest with his fellow GSG9 stopping by when they could.  He couldn't force them to stay, not when another mission called their attention and required their expertise. The solitude was driving him insane, yet he feared asking someone to spend time with him.  It was  _ stupid _ , they were trained special ops and he was bothered by being  _ alone.   _ His leg was at least hurting far less with painkillers, although he made the mistake of taking them too late in the day to be able to take the sleep medication without making them conflict.  Doc has been strict about not taking one before the other wore off. 

He forced himself up, leaning against the bedframe to keep his weight off of his left leg.  Even if it didn't make him want to scream in agony, he was all too aware of his own weakness.  He used the wall to support his weight on his way to the workshop, eager to do anything with the parts he found lying around.  It didn't matter if that was even putting something together and taking it apart again, it would be  _ something  _ that he could think about instead.

The footsteps he heard made him pause.  Most of the other operators knew he was injured and should be resting, and he knew people like Montagne and Twitch would urge him to go back to his room and take it easy, and people like Sledge would be more firm in the decision and make him go back.  He hoped it was Jackal, unable to sleep and being far more understanding and keeping quiet. 

Fuze turned the corner and stopped when he met Jäger’s eyes.  The other Spetsnaz being out left him to his own devices, planning on inspecting his firearms for parts he was sure were starting to wear down.  It helped him not worry, especially when he received the news of Jäger’s brush with death.  _ He shouldn't be walking. _

“Marius, what are you doing?”

Jäger froze in place, avoiding Fuze’s eyes.  

“I can’t sleep, I was going to work on something until I got tired.”

“Your leg is not healed yet.” 

“Ja, I know.  I can still feel the pain.” 

Fuze fell silent as he worked through his thoughts.  It didn't necessarily surprise him that Jäger couldn't sleep, based off what Tachanka was more than happy to share about their status as well as seeing the reports of what was happening, yet there was still the concern of stressing the injury more.  Kapkan often hid injuries that weren't fatal or what he deemed serious, but he tended to very clearly know his limits and not push them, needing no confrontation about the habit. What was he  _ supposed  _ to do when someone didn't listen to their body's limits? 

“Come, we’ll go together.” 

Tension eased in Jäger's shoulders, nodding in relief.  His weight was supported now by Fuze, almost easily.  _ He is twenty pounds of muscle heavier than me.   _ Fuze's grip remained firm, but not uncomfortable, as they walked into the workshop.  He didn't refuse the subtle help onto one of the stools by a work table, nodding in thanks when Fuze scooted another one under the table to allow him to keep his leg level.  

Jäger's eyes settled on the rifles Fuze placed on the table, quietly getting to work on dismantling them.  

“Something is wrong with your AK?”

Fuze didn't waver, focusing on the small parts.

“I don't know what, but it jammed on the testing range after each shot.  Something needs to be replaced. I am going to check every gun I have, to be sure.”

Jäger nodded, tapping his finger on the table as Fuze worked.  Even just watching was soothing, trying to see if he could spot the problem before Fuze could.  There were a number of things that could be wrong, mind thinking of the possibilities of each issue.  

“How are you?” 

The question caught him off guard.  He could have entirely missed it or assumed he was imagining it with how Fuze's gaze never wavered from the rifle, but his movements were careful and mindful, slowing down so he didn't miss the response to his question.  

“Fine.” 

“You are shit at lying.”

Jäger sighed quietly, spinning a screwdriver in his hands.  

“I will accept a refusal to tell me.  You've never been so fidgety before and I notice.”

He could feel Fuze's eyes on him now, struggling to find words.   _ Weak, stupid _ -

“Marius.”  

“Stop reading my mind, ja?  I'm bored, having to sit in bed all day.  I don't like it.”

He couldn't help snapping.  Doing nothing made him restless, and his irritation was rising to the surface.  He let out a deep breath. 

“Sorry.” 

“Why?  Anyone would feel the same.”  

Jäger hummed quietly, letting silence settle between them.  He kept playing with the screwdriver, spinning it by the tip on the table and catching it when it fell out of his hands.  

“Hand me the screwdriver.”  

Fuze didn't look up, but still didn't miss the cheeky grin on Jäger's face.  

“You'll have to get it from me.”

Fuze blinked in controlled surprise, huffing when the screwdriver was kept far out of his reach.  

“Marius, I need the screwdriver.”

“You can have it for a price.”

Fuze stared blankly before he stood, trying to grab the screwdriver from Jäger’s hands.  

“Ah ah, no cheating.”  

Fuze huffed, standing still while he thought out his plan to get the tool he needed.  He wiped Jäger’s smug grin off his face with a gentle kiss to the corner of his lips. Jäger’s jaw dropped slightly, surprised long enough for Fuze to grab the screwdriver from his hand.  

“Thank you.”

“ _ That is cheating, Shuhrat.”   _

“Is it?  You don’t seem too bothered.”

Jäger opened his mouth to respond, before shutting it when he realized he had nothing to say.  Fuze grinned, getting back to work on checking over his rifle. They sat in comfortable, peaceful silence, only interrupted when Jäger drifted off to sleep on the table and started softly snoring.  Fuze paused, gently setting the metal parts down to carefully pick Jäger up and carry him back to his room.


	21. Hum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Echo is resting and wants someone's attention, specifically Doc's.

Echo sat quietly, attention on the screen of his wrist-mounted feed.  He didn’t have much else to do, on account of the leg injury he had received last mission.  While sitting back and avoiding people that would undoubtedly get annoyed with him one way or another was a good thing, the fact that he couldn’t easily go anywhere was frustrating.  He was good at what he did, didn’t need to prove that to  _ anyone _ , yet he was still tense and irritated at the idea of people thinking otherwise.  

The Yokai maneuvering around base was at least a way to partially interact still while he was kept in bed.  Most people ignored it’s presence, stepping around it to not break the drone with a careless footstep. It was a somewhat mindless decision to guide the Yokai to Doc’s office, slipping under the door and into the room.  Doc, of course, was busy working at his desk on countless paperwork that Echo himself had no idea how to even begin on. Yokai quickly attached to the ceiling, cloaking ineffective when Doc had already heard it. 

“Masaru, are you feeling alright?”

Echo couldn’t help but smile.  Doc cared about everybody, even to his own detriment.  And while physically, he felt fine, there was still a keen sense of loneliness.  Yokai was sent to the ground again, gently bumping into Doc’s chair and floating with a gentle hum.  

“I take it you want my attention?”

Echo guided Yokai back and forth to try and press the concern more.  “Talking” via Yokai was sometimes easier; especially when people were so easily bothered by his blunt words.  He stated the truth, it wasn’t his fault if people didn’t like that. The deep breath from Doc made him stop. 

“Alright, give me a few moments and I’ll stop by.”  

With a small smile, Echo drove Yokai out of the room and back to his own.  It was only a matter of time before he heard the soft knock at his door before Doc walked in.  

“How has everything been healing, Masaru?”

“Fine, it’s boring to sit here and do nothing.”

“I thought you tended to not mind that?”  

Echo let his head loll to the side.  

“Yeah, but I can still move and am not stuck on missions.”

Doc nodded, sitting down next to Echo.  

“Nothing has been bothering you with your leg?”

“No, nothing.  I didn’t want to be alone, Gustave.”

Doc took a deep breath, making an effort to relax in his more casual clothes.  

“I suppose I do need a break from work.”  

Echo grinned, more than happy to scoot over and give Doc more space and doze off together.  


	22. Stubborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a mission goes wrong and Twitch is MIA, Fuze and Lion have to put aside their differences and work together.

Twitch was one of the best operators for missions where intel was minimal, able to appropriately scout and handle threats in the field with her shock drones.  This mission was a relatively simple one on paper; clear out hostiles from a building they were using as a makeshift base of operations. She held a position outside the a window, drone live and moving with her team.  

Her team this time was not comprised of any operators she knew personally, other specially trained soldiers in Rainbow that took care of a good portion of the threats that needed to be addressed, but didn’t need any specializations.  Twitch had no doubt she could work well with near anyone, so long as they listened to the information she gave them. It was part of her expertise, and so far the mission was going well. 

“Only a few more left, according to the report.”

A sudden footstep caught her attention, making her deactivate her drone controls.  She tended to stay moving often, to not allow terrorists to close in on her location.  She had been scouting the hallway by the room she was ready to breach into, figuring the last few were inside.  When she looked up, she could only take a few steps away from the figure of the terrorist in front of her before the butt of his rifle connected, slamming hard into her jaw.  She quickly lifted her gun to fire, sending several shots into his chest and arm. She let out a quiet sigh of relief, left hand going to gently cradle her bruised jaw. 

She heard movement again, taking cover around the corner at the clear signs of someone maneuvering with a ballistic shield.  She crouched and aimed towards the ground, ready to fire at the legs when they undoubtedly came around the corner. Her target came around the wall crouched, legs protected by the shield.  She cursed under her breath, backing up to give herself more space and aim for his head. Instead, the shield slammed into her and knocked her to the ground. Her vision spun after the hit, her attempts to recover futile when the hard boot harshly connected to the side of her head and made her lose grip on consciousness.

* * *

 

“You  _ what.”   _

It wasn’t a question, Fuze heard the other soldier clearly.  It was the disbelief that what he heard was true, that they had extracted without Twitch and she was sufficiently MIA.  The thought itself had made heat rise to his face and the  _ overpowering  _ desire to punch the man’s teeth in.  

“We  _ checked,  _ sir.  There was no sign of her, anywhere.  No response on the comms.”

“And you didn’t think to ask sooner?  You weren’t at all concerned that someone who regularly gave you intel was suddenly quiet with no warning?”

He wasn’t bothering to hide his anger, there was no reason to.  It was pointless to think about what ifs, if he had been there on that mission, but he knew things would be different if he had been.

“We were still in a fight, we checked as soon as we could.”

All he could hear were excuses, none of them serving to quell the rage he keenly felt.  He took a sharp breath in.

“Go debrief Six.  And be grateful I am not the person most think I am.” 

He turned away without another word, heading to the fitness center.  He needed a place he knew well to ease himself as much as he could, knowing he wouldn't be entirely free of worry until he knew Twitch was okay.  He hated feeling like this; feeling so unfocused, so angry, and so utterly useless that it was bothering him. There wasn’t much he could do until Six decided their course of action, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to storm out and go find her himself.  

There was no one else in the center, no one to annoy him with questions about if he was okay.   _ Physically,  _ there was absolutely nothing wrong, he took care of himself and that was hardly an issue.  But he didn’t have the patience to answer questions that should have been obvious, he  _ wasn’t  _ okay in the midst of the storm of emotions in his mind.  He cracked his knuckles before going through motions on the punching bag, uncaring of the surges of pain that shot through his hands.  

He tried changing his routine, making himself think more about what to do next rather than fall into the memorized pattern of punches and give himself the space to think.  He didn’t  _ want  _ to think right now, all of his thoughts concerned for his teammate and angry at the ones who let her down.  Twitch was very important to him, finding hardly any limits to what he would gladly do if she simply asked. He didn’t want to admit to the fear residing in the pit of his stomach at the thought of losing her.  

He let out a deep breath, now aware of bruised and bleeding knuckles.  He hissed in annoyance, heading towards the bathroom to clean his hands.  He knew he was hardly alone in caring about Twitch. Many on Rainbow were people she considered friends, and it was hard not to when she strove to get along with all of the others that frequently went on missions together for the more intense situations.  She was simply an incredibly likeable person, unfazed by harsh demeanors if intentions were well-placed. That, and the undeniable fact that Twitch always defended him if people questioned his character, always gave him the benefit of the doubt that made her very important to him in particular.  

The cold water stung on the tender skin, already discolored from the blows.  The pain was nothing compared to what he’s felt before, but it feels so much more devastating.  Doc always kept a first-aid kit around, he knew, and started digging for it to at least wrap his hands enough to hide the bruises.  He was  _ going  _ to be part of the team that went to rescue her, no question in his mind.  He was sure Lion would decide the same, because while the CBRN specialist didn’t get along with everyone on Rainbow, he got along  _ fantastically  _ with Twitch.  He didn’t miss how often he was around her, typically giving  _ him  _ a skeptical glare.  Fuze knew that look well, understanding every bit of the acidic glare that told him to leave her alone and not go near her.  If Lion wanted to keep him away from Twitch, it would take more than a glare to do it. 

He let out a deep breath when his hands were wrapped in bandages that were now faintly stained with red.  He put the first-aid kit away, leaning on the sink and staring at his reflection for a few moments in the mirror.  He could see anger still on his own face, the scowl that was a clear sign  _ not  _ to pull anything with him and that Bandit had learned the hard way.  He pushed himself off the sink and turned towards the door. He had a spot on a rescue team to secure.

* * *

 

Lion didn’t know what to expect when he was called by Six herself, an urgent matter having arisen and he was needed.  Another disease threat wasn’t entirely out of his mind when he first walked in, but that was quickly off the table when it was just him alone.  He and Finka were always called together if it was a CBRN threat. Six slid over a file to him, and had said to look over it and be ready at any moment.  He would have asked more questions then if she wasn’t busy, getting a call from what he could only assume was a country having their own White Mask related issues.  

He only now had a chance to look into it, sitting on his bed and tightly gripping the pillow instead of the pages.  He almost had to reread the words to believe them: Emmanuelle “Twitch” Pichon MIA. Valkyrie was already doing everything possible to track her down, but Lion was not going to simply stand by and wait.  Not when the person he considered a little sister was in danger. He had to think of all the possibilities, and Twitch was not a person that would simply disappear without a trace. 

He knew where Valkyrie would be.  She and Twitch were close friends after a mission they shared together, and had no doubts that the SEAL wouldn’t stop working until she found a lead.  He wasn’t quite sure what she thought of him, spending time like Twitch did with other operators wasn’t usually his plan. He invited himself into the camera room, spotting Valkyrie in the chair with several screens of various things.  

“Valkyrie.”

She spun around, almost surprised by the sudden intrusion.  She nodded to Lion, turning back to her screens. 

“Hey, you’ve read the info from Six?”

“I have.  Anything so far?”

“I just started, Olivier.  I’m good, but not a miracle worker.  I promise I’ll let you know the moment I find anything, then we can get out there and bring her home.”

He nodded, still lingering with his gaze on the screens.  There was no doubt in his mind she understood all of it and was by far the best for the job, but part of him hoped he could take a look and catch something that would speed the process.  She stood from the chair after a moment, walking up to him. 

“I know you’re concerned.  We all are, trust me. I don’t know who Six has on a group to go and extract her when we do find her, but if you’ve been told about it, then it’s pretty damn likely you’ll be there.  I’ll let you know.”

She pat his arm far more roughly than he expected, then turned back to the monitors with a reassuring smile.  He took a deep breath, oddly struggling to find his voice.

“Merci.”

“Don’t need to thank me, Oli.”

He nodded, turning to leave.  He  _ despised  _ not being able to act, but she needed to do her job.  Waiting was the worst part, not knowing what exactly was going on or even how to help.  He opted to head to the workshop, making sure all of his devices and guns were in optimal condition.  A single fault could be fatal, and there was no way he was going to allow that to happen. 

He wasn’t surprised to find Fuze in the workshop, but he couldn’t help noticing the other man doing the exact same thing as he was, checking guns and gadgets.  Fuze caught on quickly to his stare, only slightly looking up. 

“What.”

“What are you doing that for?”

“Why do you care what I do?”

Both of them knew the answer to that question, tension between them almost tangible.  There was no doubt in Lion’s mind that Fuze knew why he was preparing, too.

“You are  _ not  _ going.”

“You do not give me orders.”

“I do when it comes to matters of  _ safety.”   _

That was the moment where Fuze roughly set the parts of his rifle down, glaring up at Lion.  

“Do not lecture me about  _ safety. _ ”

Lion didn’t back down, already clear in his dislike of Fuze.  He had seen Twitch grow closer to him, despite the blunt and abrasive nature of Fuze’s.  He didn’t like to tell Twitch who to be friends with, but the last thing he wanted was for her to strain herself for people that wouldn’t do the same or didn’t deserve it, and Fuze was on that list he didn’t consider deserving of the effort.  No matter what reason he had for coming to that conclusion, he was going to stick with it. 

“Do not try to tell me to hush when the life of my close friend and teammate is on the line.”

That was Fuze’s limit.  Eyes narrowed as he walked closer, not quite as tall as Lion but still big enough to contend with him and get in his face.  

“Do  _ not  _ ever imply that she is not a close friend and teammate of mine.”

Lion wasn’t going to back off, only inches away from Fuze’s face.  

“I’m not, but if you truly think I am going to let you threaten her life, you are  _ very  _ mistaken.”

“Because of the Matryoshka’s?  I am not an idiot when it comes to them.  I am going, whether you like it or not. Unless you wish to bring this conflict to Six.”

Lion grit his teeth.  Six wouldn’t change things like that now, not over personal wishes.  He sighed, glaring daggers. 

“If there is even a  _ single  _ scrape from one of your explosives, God have mercy on you for I won’t.”

“I don’t need a God’s help to use the brain in my skull on when to use my devices.”

Fuze could tell  _ that  _ struck a very sensitive nerve in Lion, the silence between them creeping towards deadly.  It was interrupted when Ash and Thermite walked in. Fuze backed off, going back to checking over his rifle and Matryoshka device.  Lion took his things and left, preferring to be anywhere  _ but  _ the workshop.  He could read to pass the time, intensely alert to any sound his phone made.  For now, he simply had to wait for Valkyrie.

* * *

 

Twitch’s head pounded.  Her vision was blurry and she couldn't at all remember where she was or how she got there.  Her attempt to move was met with harsh resistance. Her hands were tied together behind the chair she sat in, very quickly putting the pieces together as she fully came to.  She could tell that she was alone, neck aching after God knows how long sitting with her head hanging forward. There was nothing defining about the room, nothing she could use to figure out where she might be.  The door creaked open, bright light spilling into the darkness and blinding her still spotty vision. 

“Oh, wonderful, you've woken up.” 

She didn't recognize the voice at all, already not fond of the fake sweetness.  

“Not even a greeting in return, my dear Emmanuelle?”

She refused to meet his gaze.  He hummed, grabbing her cheeks and moving her head to force her to meet vividly colorful eyes behind the blank white mask, a mix of both blue and hazel visible in the dim light.  

“My my, so much animosity.  And here I am trying to be nice, unlike so many of my colleagues.”

“Go to hell.”

He gasped dramatically, letting go of her cheeks.  

“Such a rude guest!  But, you're in luck. I'm a very  _ patient _ individual.  We can either go the simple route of politeness and cooperation, or the harsher route of being difficult.  Which would you prefer?”

She kept herself silent, earning a loud sigh from him. 

“You know, part of me hoped you'd cooperate.  As much as I enjoy what I do, I hate having to hurt such a pretty little thing like you.  Even with the attitude.”

“Fuck off.”  

He paused in the doorway, looking behind him before he completely turned and left.  

“Don’t worry, miss Pichon, I’ll be back soon enough.  I just need to grab a few supplies.”

The door was shut after that, leaving Twitch in darkness again.  The rope was starting to dig into her wrists as she struggled in the hopes of getting herself loose.  Her ankles were tied to the legs of the chair, making movement largely impossible. Her gear had been stripped off, hair down and reaching her shoulders easily.  Her jaw still hurt, meaning it couldn’t have been  _ that  _ long since she was knocked out.  She had already made up her mind, whatever questions they were going to ask would be met with refusal.  She kept her gaze focused on the ground as the door opened again, light pouring in again. She could hear the sounds of metal scraping along the floor, resisting the urge to look up and investigate.  

“So, my dear, I’m sure you’re wondering what I could possibly wish to know from you, hm?”

She didn’t respond, hearing the sound of fingernails tapping a metallic surface.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll still answer.  I’m sure you’re very well aware of your consistent involvement with projects that result in very… shall we say,  _ irritating,  _ obstacles.  And undoubtedly, you’re very familiar with things that you didn’t work on, but work  _ with  _ closely.  I really simply want to know how all these marvels of technology work.”

She bit her lower lip, wincing when a sudden bright light shined in her face.  

“Come now, we don’t  _ have  _ to do this harshly.  I truly mean it when I say I’d rather not.”

She kept her eyes closed at the bright light, unable to quiet the soft cry that came out when her jaw was roughly grabbed and the bruise shot a wave of pain through her face.  

“You don't truly wish to make me use such  _ vulgar  _ methods of getting the information I want, do you?”

“You can go to hell.”

The light suddenly shut off, leaving her to blink rapidly and try to regain vision to see.  

“Perhaps I will, but certainly not anytime soon.”

She felt the two prongs of a device poke into her side, not able to react before she felt the distinct surges of electricity rushing through her body.  There was no fighting the spasms or screams she let out, trying to compose herself when the shocks stopped. She let her head hang forward, taking deep breaths.  

“You have quite the voice, miss Pichon.  Now, if I may be serious for just a moment,”  He leaned in close to her face, making sure his eyes met hers.  “I’d truly,  _ truly  _ hate having to continue this.  But, I have my job as you have had yours, and I’m afraid I won’t be stopping until I’ve done as I’ve been told.  Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, hm?”

While she wanted nothing more to avoid unnecessary pain, she was stubbornly holding onto the resolve she had earlier, to keep her mouth shut if it wasn’t cursing out the man torturing her.  He sighed and shook his head.

“Very well, if you insist on not cooperating.”

She screamed again as the electric current rushed through her, causing the ropes to dig in deeper as she thrashed.  Her breaths were getting shaky as the shocks stopped again, unable to help whining in pain. 

“I think I’ll give you some time to think about your decision.  I must warn you, if you don’t start cooperating, it  _ will  _ get worse.”

He left the room, leaving the table where it was.  She slowly looked over, eyes adjusting to the dark and letting her determine some of the tools on the table; A collection of knives, the device that had just been shocking her, and what she could only assume was an electrical brand in the shape of a rectangle.  She took deep breaths, steadying herself for what was undoubtedly going to be more pain to come.

* * *

 

Lion was up in an instant when his phone went off, reading the message from Valkyrie that simply stated ‘I got it’.  It was all he needed to grab his things and head to the room where she worked and nearly storm in. It had been several hours so far, and he was getting impatient.

“Where is she?”

“Easy big guy, don’t bowl me over!  We’ll be heading out soon to go get her.”

Valkyrie grabbed the rest of her things, leading Lion to the ready helicopter where Fuze waited.  

“You’re coming along too?”

Valkyrie looked up at Lion as she got ready to hop into the helicopter after Fuze.  

“I’m sure as hell not waiting around here.  Dokk’s got a program that’ll get me into the cams there, so I’ll be your eyes from above in there.  Come on, we gotta go.”

Lion nodded, climbing in and sitting down across from Fuze.  Neither of them made any attempt to speak, keenly avoiding each other’s gaze.  Valkyrie looked between them, taking a deep breath. 

“Look, whatever thing you two have going on, it can wait.  At least talk to each other and plan something out. I’ll be able to cover you guys with cameras, but I can’t tell you what to do.”

Fuze and Lion turned their attention to each other, Lion taking a deep breath.  

“We’ll move through and clear it room by room, standard cell-clearing routine.”

Fuze crossed his arms.  

“That takes too much time.  We should clear two rooms at a time, each of us taking one.”  

“I can watch for incoming hostiles as you two move.”

Lion nodded after a moment, looking outside.  

“Fine, we’ll go in that way.  We move quickly and thoroughly.”

Fuze nodded, silence settling back in as they waited to land.  Valkyrie was the first to stand up when they touched down.

“I’ll be nearby, but mostly giving you info on where they are.”

“Merci.”

Lion and Fuze got off after her, moving towards the building.  Valkyrie moved to set up outside, close enough to still rush in and help if needed but far enough to be out of direct line of fire.  Lion and Fuze moved towards a door, not at all barricaded. 

“Alright you two, I’ve got eyes inside, they don’t know we’re here yet.  The moment you guys go in, they’ll know, but right now you could get the jump on three.”

Fuze took point by the door, preparing to kick the lock and burst in the door.  He glanced over to Lion, waiting for the ready signal before, slamming the heel of his boot into the lock.  The terrorists inside were surprised, gunned down before they could return fire. Valkyrie’s voice came in over the radio.  

“Here they come, boys.  Looks like a lot of them are coming to you.”

They covered opposite sides of the door, taking shots at any target they saw in their line of sight.  

“No one on the upper floor, they’re all located in the basement.  Only one room reinforced down there.”

Valkyrie didn’t need to elaborate for both of them to understand what that meant.  With her guidance, they maneuvered downstairs with their original plan gone, far more focused on making sure they got to Twitch.  Fuze managed to get to the bottom of the stairs before they heard a loud, very familiar scream of pain. Lion didn’t hesitate starting his drone’s scan, firing at the targets he saw when the building shook.  Fuze wasted no time in moving past Lion, heading toward the source of the scream. 

He simply knew he needed to move quickly.  He didn’t care if Lion followed, sticking to slower and thorough sweeps of the area to make sure they didn’t get surprised.  He was going to kill every last terrorist hiding in this building, gun ready and finding targets easily. When he came to the locked door, he only checked to make sure Lion hadn’t found more trouble before kicking down the lock and moving in.  

He swore his heart stopped.  The table of torture devices caught his attention after seeing Twitch tied to the chair, shoulders rising and falling quickly with strained breaths and her head pulled back by her loose hair.  His gaze settled on the man pressing the pistol under her chin. 

“Good evening, gentlemen.  I’m sure we can be a bit more reasonable than your lovely friend here?  I  _ strongly  _ suggest you lower your guns.”

Lion stood in the doorway, catching the way her forehead bled and her stomach had burns, just visible with her shirt barely lifted.  He could tell there were far more under the fabric, and her cheek had several cuts still bleeding. Neither of them were willing to listen, at least until the pistol’s barrel poked at Twitch’s neck.  

“Now, I’m certainly no expert on human anatomy, but I am fairly certain that a shot right here isn’t fatal directly, but is rather painful and leads to a person bleeding out very quickly.  Really, such a terrible thing to witness, let alone endure for final moments of life, wouldn’t you agree?”

Fuze’s face was hot with fury, and he didn’t need to turn around to know Lion felt similarly.  

“I can’t get a clear shot without putting Twitch in the way.”

Valkyrie’s voice cut in over the radio, only serving to add to Fuze’s irritation.  There wasn’t any way he could aim and put a bullet between the man’s eyes before he pulled the trigger on the pistol, reluctantly forcing him to lower his gun.  Lion grit his teeth, following suit. 

“You see?  A little bit of cooperation is all I ask.  It’s not such a difficult thing to ask for, is it?”

Neither Rainbow operator made any attempt to speak.  The man shook his head. 

“Tsk tsk tsk, such difficult conversation partners.  I really do hate having to force it out of people, but unfortunately it is part of my job.  All of this could have been avoided if she had only answered my questions.”

_ “...Go to hell.” _

Lion hated hearing Twitch’s voice sound so strained, heart sinking deeper into his stomach when the grip on her hair changed to one around her throat.  

“Still so much  _ attitude!   _ Some things can never be fixed, can they?”

A gunshot rang out from the ceiling, the pistol falling from the man’s grip as a bullet tore through his forearm.  Fuze dropped his gun in favor of sprinting at the man and tackling him to the ground, pulling out the knife he always kept on his person just in case.  He wouldn’t admit it, but the screams filled him with satisfaction as he plunged the blade into the man’s left wrist, every crack of bone like a favored melody as he separated ligaments and tendons.  

Lion knew he should have likely done something to stop Fuze, but wasn’t particularly keen on getting in the way of what was well-deserved.  He calmly moved by Fuze dismembering the man’s left hand, cutting the ropes from Twitch’s hands and ankles. He made sure to pick her up delicately, not sparing another glance to the scene behind him with a very angry Fuze and a terrorist screaming in agony and now missing his left hand.  The point of his knife threatened the man’s throat, not piercing quite yet.  _ Too merciful.   _

Instead, Fuze took out one of his cluster charges, placing one right on his stomach.  Without another word, he took several steps back and pressed the activator, hearing the sound and watching the explosives decimate whatever was left of the terrorist from the doorway.  Blood splattered across the room and across his visor, cries cut short as the last explosives went off.

“Let’s get back home, quickly.”

If Valkyrie had seen what carnage Fuze had caused, she didn’t mention it.  Fuze calmly walked back to the helicopter, rage replaced by concern for his friend as he wiped blood off the lenses of his helmet.  Her arms had distinct patterned marks, wrists raw from the rope as well as a large burnt section of flesh on her stomach. Lion was cleaning her cheek, tear stains still visible to him as he stood close by.  Her body shook in Lion’s grip, his own heart panging as he watched her stifle cries of pain. 

“You’ll be okay, Manu.  I promise, we’ll get back and make sure.”

She quietly nodded, leaning forward to press her forehead against his shoulder.  Fuze quietly sat beside them, rubbing her back after a moment’s hesitation. His gaze settled to Lion’s, simply receiving a nod in response.  A motion of not necessarily acceptance, but tolerance. It would do.

 

* * *

 

 

Twitch's body ached.  Her head hurt, arms weak and stomach sensitive as she came to, panic eased by the familiar sight of Doc working not far away.  She was back at base, not tied to a table instead of a chair for more torture. She let her eyes adjust to the soft light, blanks in her memory being filled in as it came back to her.  She remembered how angry Fuze and Lion had been, not at her or each other (Thank God) but at the terrorist pressing the barrel of the gun against her. She could clearly remember the sound of breaking bones, even as Lion gently carried her out, followed by the sound of screams and explosions.  She remembered the blissful peace this time, not the usual tense silence that followed when Lion and Fuze were in the same room together. 

Sitting up was a struggle she quickly realized she couldn’t manage.  Her stomach and arms hurt far too much, skin still marred from the electrical surges that had been sent through her.  Doc spun around in an instant, at the side of her bed. 

“Rest, Emmanuelle.  You still need to recover.”

“I haven’t been out for long, have I?”

Doc shook his head, hand resting on hers.  

“Non, not long at all.  Olivier told me you passed out on the trip back, which was about an hour and a half ago.  I’ve had… quite an experience telling everyone that you’re alright, simply sleeping and that rest is vital for you to recover.”

She couldn’t help but smile, realizing now that Lion was in the room too, quietly watching.

“These two have been very concerned in particular, outright ignoring everything I say.  I was able to at least keep Shuhrat waiting outside.”

The smile broke into quiet laughter, forcing a soft smile on Lion’s previously stoic face.  Doc nodded to both of them. 

“I’ll go tell him he can come in and leave you to talk.”

Doc walked out shortly after that, leaving Lion and Twitch alone for now.  She looked over to him, his hand gently grabbing hers. 

“I was worried, Manu.”

Her wrists were delicately wrapped with bandages, protecting the raw skin from further damage, she knew.  His hands were rough, but still taking great care to be as careful as he could. 

“I’m sorry, Olivier.”

“Don’t be, you did nothing to need to earn forgiveness.  I’m just glad you’re safe.”

She nodded, letting herself fall quiet with the sweet sentiment.  She was normally talkative, always excited to share what she had planned, yet she was still distinctly tired.  Not the kind remedied by sleep, just the residual tiredness from the strain her body had been under. 

Fuze was fine with waiting outside.  Twitch was an important friend to him, but he knew that Lion was like family to her.  It was why he had resisted punching Flament in the face so far, not wanting to stress her with their quiet conflict becoming obvious when the other man already had enough problems getting along with a good number of Rainbow.  She got along with very nearly everyone, and even Jäger could tell how Lion tended to be softer with both her and Rook. 

Doc walking out was the signal that he could head in, that she had woken up and was at least conscious enough to talk.  It was a wave of relief washing over him; both he and Lion had been terrified when she passed out. Not that either of them would admit it, but it was clear nonetheless.  He was almost sure that Lion would punch him if he ever tried to mention it, even to relate to the overwhelming feeling.

She at least looked far better than she did over an hour ago.  Face no longer contorted in an expression of sheer pain, and the injuries that left marks were primarily bandaged and covered.  Lion, of course, was sitting next to her bed. He had been there diligently and unfaltering since they had gotten back, Fuze knew.  He certainly acted like a big brother. 

“How are you?”

Twitch nodded, giving a small smile.  

“I’m okay, really.  It still hurts, but I know it’ll get better.”

Fuze slowly walked closer, well aware of Lion’s watchful gaze on him.  

“Good.”

There was a few moments of silence before Twitch spoke up.

“I'm glad you two are getting along, too.” 

“That may be an overstatement.”

Lion's bluntness was a comfortable familiarity that made her laugh.  

“You'll get there.  Thank you, to you both. “

Doc walked back in, lingering by the doorway.

“I highly recommend now you two let her rest and recover.  I assure you, everything will be fine.” 

Something told Fuze that was more directed at Lion than himself, both of them getting up to leave the room regardless.  That left the two of them somewhat awkwardly standing outside the infirmary. He turned to quietly leave, only pausing when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  

“I should not have been so harsh.”

A statement, not an apology.  Admitting he had been wrong was not something Lion liked to do, and this was the closest he could manage.  Fuze nodded once, turning to face Lion. 

“We both said things we shouldn’t have.  It’s in the past.”

Lion nodded, letting his arm fall to his side.  He went on his way as Fuze went on his, Twitch’s words repeating in his head.  He’d learn to get along with the others better, even if it took plenty of time.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this a bit ago and forgot to post it, so here it is! Also has a nice little extra bit I wrote at the end.


	23. Hail Mary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lion has his brush with death.

It wasn’t entirely uncommon for Lion and Finka to still be called for disease-related threats with their inclusion of Rainbow, often being joined by other Rainbow operators when it was a matter of terrorism.  He and Finka were obvious choices for an operation involving White Masks using bioweapons, being joined by Montagne, Ash, Doc, and Sledge. Lion already knew that there had been a fairly large section of the city closed off, quarantined because of the contagion and because of the inciting incidents from terrorists across those areas to make the situation worse.  

The residential area was in absolute ruin.  There was no other way Lion could describe it, the rubble surrounding them had been because of the terrorist force testing their weapons of destruction.  It was up to them to establish which areas were safe and which needed to be strictly quarantined.  _ Same old thing.   _ Lion took a deep breath as he checked over his gear, making sure everything was in top condition.  Montagne pat his shoulder, interrupting his check. 

“How are you feeling, mon ami?”

“Fine.  Eager to get this done as quickly as we can.” 

It wasn't that he hated what he did.  Time was always of the essence in his expertise, and he preferred to move quickly to prevent as many casualties as he could.  It was vital in crises like this, and both CBRN specialists knew that well. Montagne nodded, hand moving to pat Lion’s back. 

“Good, I'll keep you covered out there.”

“Merci.”  

Montagne walked off afterwards, leaving Lion to finish his check.  He was nothing if not thorough in following procedures. He had to be, his own instincts couldn't be trusted.  He nodded to himself when he was sure he was ready, heading out to join the others. 

“Good, we’re all here.”  Ash looked around to the others, not waiting another second longer.  “We have a lead that this building here is being used as a makeshift base for opfor.  It’s right next to a subway station, meaning there is no telling where they could be next.”  She pointed to the circled section of the map. 

“Lion, Montagne, and Sledge will take care of the subway tunnels, make sure they aren’t able to escape as Finka, Doc and I take care of the building.  It’s a good guess that they’ll have explosives set up, so be careful. I’ll lead my group, Sledge leads the other. If there are no questions, then we’ll head out now.”

No one spoke.  Ash got up and gathered her guns, nodding.  

“Alright, let’s go.”

Ash took the lead with Finka and Doc, leaving Lion, Montagne, and Sledge to follow suit and form their own plans.  Lion knew Sledge was a good leader on operations, and still preferred the idea of someone else telling him what to do.  Following orders was simple and reliable. 

“Sounds simple enough.  We hold the entrance of the subway, taking down any targets we find.  With your drone and your shield, we’ll be sorted.”

Lion noticed the way Montagne looked down at his trusty shield at it’s mention.  He couldn’t help grinning, nodding to Sledge.

“I think we’ll be just fine.”

“Then let’s get goin’.”

Sledge led the way, Lion and Montagne following behind.  They would touch down at the same place as Ash’s team, but make their way to the subway level rather than scout and breach the building.  They didn’t need to plan as much as Ash and her team did, their goal was far easier than breaching and searching the building. Unsurprisingly to Lion, Jäger wasn’t anywhere near this mission.   Operation Chimera was still present in both of their minds, except it affected Jäger far differently. 

The flight was silent, leaving Lion to his thoughts.  The land below him was a sad sight. Countless buildings abandoned meant many more people torn from their homes, and very possibly everything they had known their entire lives.  Lion wanted this to be done as swiftly as possible; his goal was always saving lives and he knew how to do that. 

He sat up when they got close to the LZ.  Ash’s team was ready to go before them, needing as much time as they could get.  He followed Sledge closely when it was their turn to hit the ground, heading for the subway stairs.  The power had long since run out for the tunnel, pathway illuminated by the backups that dotted the walls.  It was almost eerie, halls devoid of all noise. 

“Move carefully.  Montagne, take point.”

He nodded to Sledge, moving to let Montagne lead with his shield fully extended.  They moved only at Sledge’s command, taking out only God knows how many nitro cells by the time they reached the main tunnels of the subway.  Lion only ever saw a few targets, easily taking the ones Sledge didn’t. When the echoes of their gunshots quieted down, the silence that met them only made Lion suspicious.  

“It’s too quiet.”

Sledge said exactly what he was thinking.  Lion knew there had to be something going on.  Ash’s voice over the radio startled him. 

“We gotta move, building is coming down on us!  That subway tunnel better be clear!”

Lion heard explosives not long after, the rumbling obviously from the building that the other team was clearing out.  Without hesitating, he activated his drone’s scan. It would at least help them spot where hostiles were incoming from, and not be surprised by them.  His attention moved to the rest of the tunnel, ensuring that there was nothing they missed. He knew to still stay careful, just in case their enemies were staying perfectly still while the scan went off.  

Ash’s team moved quickly, rushing down the stairs as explosions started going off.  Ash unsurprisingly was leading, racing with Finka and Doc not far behind her. More explosions echoed, this time throughout the tunnel before anyone had a chance to speak.  The ceiling above them rumbled. 

“Move, before it comes down on us!”

Montagne’s shout made itself clear through the midst of other noises, being the final push they needed to start moving down the tunnel.  Lion had seen the map of the city quadrant, knowing that the subway tracks could lead them to a station that was in a much safer area, currently being held in lockdown.  It was the best option with the roof coming down on them. 

Lion stayed near the back of the group, ensuring no one fell too far behind.  The concrete supports were starting to crack, and normally Lion would be against running in the tracks themselves, but they didn’t have the luxury of avoiding them nor were there any subways going through anytime soon.  

Another loud explosion made them lose balance, the blast being directly above them.  No one needed to be told to keep going, avoiding the crashing debris. Lion stumbled when a large boulder crashed in front of him, blocking his immediate path forward.  Montagne was the one to turn around. 

“Lion!  Are you alright?”

He couldn’t answer, working to avoid more debris crashing down on him and separating him from the others.  He could hear Sledge urging Montagne to move, shaking his head slightly to focus himself. He had to keep backtracking, or else be crushed by the concrete from above.  He sprinted back where they had come from, unable to help the curse that came out when he felt stone collide with his right leg and pin him to the ground. He cried out when he heard and felt the distinct  _ crack  _ of bone in his leg when more debris crashed down.  

“Olivier!”  

Montagne was always concerned about him, Lion found.  It was simply how Montagne was, often without much cause, but this time Lion didn’t blame him at all.   Moving his leg was out of the question, even the slightest shift caused intense pain. 

“Alive, but pinned.”

It hurt like nothing else Lion has felt before, but he knew to get through the wall of debris would be a time consuming task, and they didn’t need more pressure.  He could hear them talking, unable to make out what they were saying. Sledge’s voice called out louder, directed at him. 

“We’ll have to get to surface on the other side, then come back to where we dropped in.  Sit tight.”

_ I don’t have much of a choice, do I?   _ He bit back the retort, letting out a strained breath to refocus.  

“Move quickly.”

He could wait, even if that meant being alone for however long it took them to get through the subway tunnel and eventually get back to the original landing zone.  Their racing footsteps got quieter as they ran in the opposite direction, leaving Lion in complete silence. The dim lights shone steadily, casting an orange haze over the grey concrete.  There were no hostiles in the immediate vicinity, but if more closed in while he was still pinned, it would mean  _ trouble.   _

He was grateful for bringing a silencer on his pistol, taking a deep breath before taking out each light and plunging himself into darkness.  He stood out far too much with yellow hazmat gear in anything but pitch black. 

He was not someone afraid of the dark, hadn’t been scared still as a child by the superstitions of demons lurking in the closet or under his bed.   _ Though,  _ he supposed,  _ that had to do with devout following of the Catholic faith, didn’t it?   _ Except now, the demons that threatened to close in were very real White Mask threats, and it was only a matter of time before they reoccupied the tunnel.  

He glanced at his leg, starting to see red oozing from between the debris.  It didn’t surprise him, but he knew it was  _ bad _ .  Debris sometimes had sharp edges, and he was sure some of it dug into his leg and made it even harder to move.  He took another deep breath, making sure it was steady to not alert anything that he was there. Rainbow knew he was there, the White Masks did not, and he intended to keep it that way.  There wasn’t much more he could do now, except to wait patiently. 

The silence was unsettling.  He was used to it in church, when he reflected on his past mistakes and sins and prayed to God to forgive him.  There was no sense of holiness or sanctuary here, only the looming threat of death all too eager to claim another.  He had to shake his head.  _ I’m not going to die here.   _ Rainbow would be coming back to help him as soon as possible, it was only a matter of waiting until then.  Even still, the actual effort of waiting was tedious and fear-inducing, whether he wanted to admit it or not.  

The ceiling above him was still unsteady, cracks spiraling towards the edges and threatened to let more debris fall to the ground.  It only cemented his fears, instilling the realization that there was a very real risk of being crushed before he could be rescued. The blockage on his leg was far too heavy for him to move on his own, leaving him helpless.   _ That  _ was not a feeling Lion enjoyed.  

It was the echo of voices that made him falter.  The moment he fired his rifle, they’d know he was here.  He swallowed his breath, listening carefully to ensure he knew who they were.  

“Christ, it’s fuckin’ dark down here!”

“We’re underground, dipshit, what’d you expect?”

Those were not voices he recognized.  He didn’t dare move, even though they had nothing like his drone with which to find him.  Being found now was a death sentence, and while his eyes had now adjusted to the dark, it would only take a small shift of rubble for him to be heard and his presence discovered.  He knew they were creeping closer, hearing more movement that signaled many more enemies than he could handle while staying still. 

“How did no one think to bring a damn flashlight?”

“This isn’t a fucking camping trip, that’s how!”

His leg was aching in pain, forcing him to bite his lip and avoid making any sound.  His left hand reached for one of his pockets, the one he kept the age-old rosary that never left his person.  

_ Hail Mary, full of grace.   _

“It’s not my fuckin’ fault I’d like to be able to see, and we knew we were holding the goddamn subway!”

_ The Lord is with Thee.   _

“Shut the fuck up and keep looking around!  The boss’ll kill us before we can go get our little boy scout gear ready!”

_ Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.   _

“Calm your shit, fucking hell!  Go check the cave in already, make sure the rest of this damn place isn’t gonna fall apart, too.”

_ Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.   _

A sharp breath in, another footstep closer and closer, almost within arm’s length.  He could see the outline of the man with gun ready, unable to see eyes undoubtedly meeting his as the gun lifted.  

_ Amen.   _

The sudden splatter of blood across his mask made him flinch, barely registering the loud bang that had sounded out.   _ Marksman rifle, too loud for any common make.   _ The body fell to the ground in front of him, pooling blood quickly reaching him.  The rosary in his hands was free of such stains, he knew, through luck or divine intervention.  The gunshots kept sounding out, realizing it was Glaz’s rifle.  _ Nothing else sounds quite like that.   _

He tucked the rosary away, the White Mask’s attention now on the attacking Rainbow operators.  Their silhouettes were hard to make out, save for Montagne’s shield.  _ Never goes anywhere on mission without it.   _ He stayed silent until they cleared the rest of the subway, not wanting to draw attention to himself.  

“Olivier, where are you?”

It was Sledge’s voice that called out instead.  

“Here.”  

Tac lights shined over him as they turned to the sound of his voice, nearly blinding him as they rushed over to help him.  

“We’ll get you back on your feet in no time.”

He nodded, forcing him still as he and Montagne moved the debris enough for him to get free, unable to bite back the strained cry as the internal metal was pulled out of his leg.  He took deep breaths when he was finally free, accepting Glaz and Doc’s help to his feet. 

“Merci.”  

“We need to get back as soon as possible.  Extraction is waiting.” 

Glaz was keen to starting moving, and Lion wasn’t about to complain.  Montagne walked up to his side, taking Glaz’s place in helping Lion walk.  His time hadn’t come just yet. 

_ Thank God.   _


	24. Unbroken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bonds can never be broken, just like the ones Rook forms with his teammates.

Twitch and Rook calmly got off the helicopter, their mission being a simple clearing out of a White Mask cell.  Rook was an extremely reliable shot, and Twitch was easily able to find targets and call them out. The villa they were clearing out was much larger than most other locations, meaning more places for terrorists to hide.  The intricate pathways down to the villa with high reaching stone walls made it easy to get close and keep herself covered, scouting with her drone with Rook stayed close by to cover her. 

The drone was able to easily scout out a good entry point, where they could hold as enemies came closer.  They moved wordlessly, breaching in and clearing each area methodically. With Twitch’s keen eye and Rook’s precise shots, the mission was made incredibly smooth.  Not a single hitch showed as they operated, moving slowly and carefully. Twitch's drone always scouted ahead of them, meaning there were no surprises. 

She felt somewhat guilty for the bombers exploding when they engaged with them, destroying parts of the floor and beautifully decorated walls.  The collateral hardly tended to be their issue directly, but that didn't mean she liked to cause unnecessary destruction. 

“There's still a bomber somewhere, be careful.” 

Rook nodded, taking the lead as they started to hear heavy breathing.  It was close by, but they couldn’t tell from where. 

“Cover me, I’m going to search for him.”  

Rook nodded as Twitch’s drone started moving again, heading down the stairs to scout the area out.  He heard the metallic sound before he saw it, knowing immediately what it was. 

“Flash!”

He didn’t hesitate to put himself between Twitch and the flashbang, shielding her from the initial blast.  His ears still rung, looking around for any potential threats. The blue light briefly showed in the nearest doorway before it suddenly turned red.  He didn’t have time to speak before the bomber exploded, breaking the floorboards and sending them crashing to the basement below. He groaned when he hit the ground, forcing himself to his feet.  Even with the ringing of his ears from the flashbang and explosion, he heard movement that wasn’t his own. 

Shots sped around him, dwindling as he took down each source.  A bullet tore through the back of his leg, making him cry out in pain and quickly turn to shoot the White Mask responsible.   _ Where was Emma?   _ It wasn’t at all like her to not have her teammate’s backs.  His eyes widened when he noticed her on the ground, unmoving.  

_ No, God no!  _

He ignored the pain in his desperation, adrenaline making his heart racing.  Twitch didn’t tend to wear the helmets the other members of GIGN did, especially not now with the discreet mask she opted to wear and her hair tied up.  The mask allowed him to see the cut across her forehead, skin quickly becoming discolored. He gently turned her over to her back, checking her pulse.  _ Just unconscious.   _ He looked up at the hole in the floor, only able to assume her forehead collided with the stone below them.   _ Concussion, or worse.   _

He gently picked her up, ignoring the agonizing pain in his leg.  They couldn't stay in the open. It was far too risky, and Rook couldn't defend Twitch from all angles.  The corner wall as at least better, he could watch the hallway and listen for threats coming up behind them.  The adrenaline was starting to wear off and the pain started to set in, making his body ache and his leg  _ hurt.   _ This was a bad situation for them both, but even with the pain he couldn’t relax.  He could still respond to the things around them, and he wasn’t going to lose Twitch today.  

He was quick to call for backup, leaning back against the wall with Twitch leaning on him, nestled in the corner.  The enormous kegs of beer at least helped hide them, but there was still the trail of blood.  _ Help needs to come quickly.   _

* * *

 

Montagne was one of the first to volunteer to go, wasting no time in preparing.  Everyone in Rainbow was part of his team, but the other members of the GIGN were especially close to him.  When he heard that Twitch and Rook were in need of backup, he felt the terrible coiling of fear around his neck.  They were both incredibly capable operators, and them needing backup was a bad sign. There was no denying to himself that they were like family to him.  

He wasn’t alone in the sentiment, with how determined both Doc and Lion were to come along despite their issues with each other.  They had the remarkable ability to put differences aside until after crises or situations, and this time was no different. Ash and Thermite were coming along too, providing their breaching expertise if the situation warranted it alongside their leadership.  

The helicopter ride was quiet, tension filling the air between them.  Normally, Lion despised sitting in silence with Doc. There was always a judging glare focused on him, trying to force him to relive and rethink his choices in Africa.  His morals  _ weren’t _ flawed.  Yet, the narrowed stare he typically received tried to make him feel like they were.  This time was different. He didn’t feel the same glare on him, and looking up confirmed it.  Doc was meticulously checking his supplies and medical equipment, again and again and again. Unnecessarily so, but Lion understood.  Doc couldn’t stand the thought of anything going wrong with the tools he might need to save their lives. 

Montagne was perfectly still, looking over his shield.  Lion didn’t know all of the stories behind each dent and scratch, but he was sure Montagne remembered them well.  A career dedicated to the protection of others, and Lion could only imagine the kind of thoughts racing through the older man’s head.  

Lion’s attention was drawn away by the metallic tapping, turning to see Thermite knocking on the door of the cabin.  

“We’re about to land, don’t want you guys too busy thinking to notice.”

Montagne turned the shield around to face the exterior outwards, nodding once.  

“Merci, mon ami.”

“Montagne, take point.  Thermite and Doc will be behind you.  Lion and I will be handling your flank, I’ll give a signal on when to activate a drone scan.  Understood?” 

Ash didn’t hesitate to cut in, eager to get the mission underway.  

“Crystal clear, ‘Liza.  Let’s go.” 

Thermite slid the helicopter door open, letting Montagne and Doc get out first.  Lion and Ash were not far behind, staying in a lower walkway while the other three went up to the second storey of the Villa.  The outer walkways let them stay above Ash and Lion, covering the hills they couldn’t see.

“We’re gonna be moving up here, get ready to roll in.”  

Thermite patted Montagne’s shoulder, signalling that this was the time to breach into the building.  The shield easily burst through the wooden barricades at the same time that Ash and Lion breached into the ground floor.  The Villa was colossal, with several floors and many different rooms to check. The first rooms they moved through were decorated beautifully, but the pristine state was a clear sign that they weren’t close to their target.  

“Lion, start a scan.”

He nodded at Ash’s command.  

“Drone starting a scan.”  

The countdown ticked, signalling the time until the deep rumbling would show any trying to sneak around.  He couldn’t help praying that he saw familiar silhouettes, marked by a bun of hair or bulky padding.  _ Please be okay.   _

* * *

 

Rook felt the rumbling that only belonged to one drone he had ever known.  Lion being here meant that Rainbow was here, too. It had to mean that. Lion was not a person who went against protocol and orders.  He forced himself to stand, well aware of the deep gashes in his leg. He had stopped the bleeding as much as he could, but the makeshift bandages still became more stained with red as he waited.  

By the time he got to his feet, the scan was over.  He had no way of knowing if Lion saw him or not. The movement he heard wasn’t from friendlies, he knew, hearing the voices he didn’t recognize.  If they caught him unprepared, both he and Twitch would be as good as dead. He didn’t have the time or space to be afraid, and simply had to wait.  

The distant blast caught his attention.  Very few things were that loud, and he had heard Ash’s breaching rounds enough to recognize them.  Her presence was a small relief with her tendency to move quickly, but the last thing he wanted was to be surprised and mistake her for a hostile target.  Every sound had him on alert; he couldn’t wait too long to confirm a hostile without causing more risks. 

He took a quick glance to Twitch behind him, laying with her back against one keg and facing the other.  She was still unconscious, but nothing else seemed to be seriously wrong. Her chest was rising and falling steadily.  Footsteps made him snap to attention, focusing on the doorway with his rifle raised. He could hear quiet gunfire- _ a suppressor?   _ Yet his focus couldn’t waver.  Movement in the doorway should’ve made him react without hesitation, yet he didn’t pull the trigger.   The shield was far too familiar. 

Words failed him, letting his rifle lower with a sigh of relief.  He watched Lion and Doc rush by towards him. When Doc starts checking him over, he shakes his head.  

“Check Emma first.   _ Please.”   _

He leaned against the keg, giving Doc as much space as he could manage to examine Twitch.  Lion was quick to Rook’s side, helping him step out of the cramped space. 

“We have extract waiting, and we’ll be back to base in no time.  Feelin’ okay there, man?”

Rook nodded to Thermite.  

“Yeah, I’m okay.  I’ll be okay.”

Lion looked around, ensuring they weren’t being watched.  He adjusted his grip on Rook, lifting the younger operator over his shoulders despite the quiet whine of protest.

“Let’s move, before more hostiles close in on us.”  

Montagne nodded, extending his shield to cover Lion and Doc as they carried the younger operators carefully.  Ash and Thermite gladly led the way, making sure to take out any threats that tried to cross their path. It didn’t take them long to reach the helicopter and fly out, most threats dealt with by the time they arrived.  Lion set Rook down carefully on the bench, giving Doc the chance to fully inspect it. 

“How is- How’s Emma?”

Rook was still concerned for her safety, looking up to the seat across from him where Montagne held her in his arms.  Doc spoke up and took Rook’s attention.

“Emmanuelle will be alright.  I promise.”

Rook nodded, knowing that Doc wouldn’t lie to him.  The gentle touch against his leg made him flinch. 

“I know it hurts, Julien.  These injuries are deep, and you shouldn’t be walking on them.”

“Gustave, I had to, I-”

“Calm yourself, mon ami.  I know. I am not blaming you.”

Rook fell quiet, letting his head rest back against the cabin.  He let his eyes close, largely dozing off under Doc’s care with the assurance that everything would be okay.


	25. Hush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smoke isn't a medic, but he has to do what he can for Mute.

Mute was used to working with Smoke.  The man enjoyed what he did, as macabre as it was to slowly kill people with toxic gas.  It worked, and it was reserved for terrorists actively trying to kill them and innocent people, so he supposed it was alright.  He himself had developed a keen ability to not feel guilt over the lives he took, it was part of his job to keep the most innocents safe.  

Both he and Smoke were tasked with defending a biohazard, ensuring that the White Masks didn’t get their hands on it.  It was only a matter of holding out until no more terrorists showed their faces, and they could extract the container without issue.  His jammers were delaying the White Masks well enough for them to last another five minutes. 

Another wave was handled, and Mute let out a deep breath.  It was starting to strain him, more so than missions usually did.  Smoke was barricading a doorway as Mute caught his breath, looking down to the ground and seeing splatters of blood.  When he saw another drop fall, his stomach sank.  _ That blood is mine. _  He blinked in surprise.   _ When did that even happen?   _ It didn't matter much now, he was going to bleed to death if he didn't get help.  

_ “James…” _

Smoke huffed.  Mute was young, he knew, but he wasn't an idiot.  The use of a first name was strictly forbidden on missions; it was far too much of a risk.  When he heard his name come out of Mute's lips, he had the mind to ignore it and bash a hole in the barricade to see out of.

_ “...I'm not fuckin’ playing.” _

“We aren't on a first name basis, you know.”

_ THUD.   _

Smoke turned at the sudden sound, noticing now that Mute was on the floor, on his knees and struggling to keep himself up.  The blood on his torn uniform was the clearest indication of why. 

“Oh, for fucks sake…” 

Smoke had to stay calm.  They were  _ so damn close _ to an extraction, and he couldn't have Mute bleeding out on him like this.  He wasn't an idiot himself, he knew Mute already lost plenty of blood. He guessed one more wave of hostiles, and Mute was in no condition to handle a gunfight.  The best solution he could come up with for now was to hide Mute in the corner of the room, propping up furniture around him. 

“Don't move or make a sound.”  

Smoke needed to stop the bleeding.  There was no doubt in his mind that Mute wouldn't be able to simply last on his own until they got out, and he didn't want to have to do something drastic to keep him from getting captured.  He didn't stop running until he came across the pipes he had seen earlier. Searing hot air inside them was enough to heat his knife to cauterize wounds. He raced back to the room and to Mute's side.

“ _ Wait-” _

Mute's hand stopped him from pressing the searing blade against the wound.  Smoke sighed, figuring the bullet was still there. 

“We don't have time for a heart to heart chat right now.” 

He grabbed Mute's knife quickly, lifting the mask to put his hand over Mute's mouth and start prying the bullet out.  Even with the younger man's writhing and muffled whines of pain, he kept going until the bullet was removed. Smoke grabbed his own knife, figuring the blade was still hot and pressing it against skin.  

Mute's head pressed against the wall behind him, having nowhere to go to escape the burning pain.  Smoke's hand made it impossible to cry out in pain, only managing soft whines and whimpers. He couldn't do much to push Smoke away, even  _ knowing _ he shouldn't, he had  _ asked  _ for help, yet the pain was unbearable.  When the knife was finally removed from against his skin, he struggled to breathe evenly.  

“Sit here and hush, we're almost out of this shite.”  

Smoke hated having to leave him there, hiding in the corner with the hope he wouldn't be noticed.  The incoming hostiles meant he didn't have much of a choice, but he'd be damned to not take the opportunity to utilize his canisters best, and enjoy every second of agony he'd inflict.  

Mute did as he was told, not moving and staying perfectly quiet.  If even one terrorist found him, it would put a greater strain on Smoke, to defend both the container and him.  He wasn't bleeding, but his side was still aching in pain, both from the bullet and from the cauterizing. With his mask lowered over his face, he bit his lip.   _ Stay quiet.  Don't be obvious. _  He listened carefully to the gunfire and footsteps, still armed with his pistol and capable of defending himself, even if it hurt.  The pain could be fixed; his death couldn't be. 

The heavy breathing of the bomber started making itself clearer, coming closer to the room.  Smoke was handling the other side. The sudden flashbang caught him off guard, blinding him and making his ears ring.  He blinked rapidly, starting to hear the breathing again, and  _ loudly.  No, he can't be that close.   _

When he could see again, the blue light of the bomber's suit was shining over him, dangerously close.  Yet, the bomber hadn't seen him. Even with his heart pounding in his chest, knowing the  _ slightest  _ of movements or sounds would mean his death, he stayed quiet.   _ Hush.   _

The bomber turned, investigating the room.  Mute held his breath, not daring to try and breathe when the looming threat of death was so close. 

Yet, he couldn't help the sharp gasp when the bomber's settled on him and started reaching for the detonator.  

Even still, he stayed quiet, shutting his eyes.  

The sudden gunfire made him jump, opening his eyes to see the bomber's body fall beside him.  He let out a quiet breath of relief, hearing nothing else but Smoke's footsteps. 

“Fucks sake, you're a needy little wanker, always needing my attention.” 

Mute couldn't explain why he chuckled at the response.  He could hear over the radio that their extract was coming in soon, both Thatcher and Sledge’s voice coming in over the radio.  He swore he heard Clash in the background, in her typical, vulgar fashion. 

Smoke stood near him, keeping an eye out just in case.  When Thatcher walked in, Smoke immediately stepped aside.  Even the stern gruffness was soothing. 

“Easy, you’re fine.” 

Clash had her shield up and ready, backing into the room with Sledge behind her.  Caution was key, and Thatcher was always an individual that took no chances, making no assumptions and ensuring that no one tried being a hero.  

Mute couldn’t help the cry of pain now that he was on his feet, feeling his side shift and pull in ways that aggravated the sensitive area.  He was aware now of just how  _ bad  _ it all was, and how close he came on  _ multiple  _ occasions.  He shook his head, struggling to stay on his feet even with Thatcher’s help.  

“Sledge, c’mere.  Clash, stay ahead of us.  Smoke, stay behind. Cover us while we get ‘im out.”

The other SAS obeyed without complaint.  Mute knew he wasn’t alone in feeling that Thatcher and Sledge tended to take charge, and no one contested their orders.  Even with the combined help, Mute felt incredibly weak.  _ How much longer until we get outside? _

“Stay with me, come on.”

Thatcher’s voice was quieter, trying to be soothing and reassuring.  Each step felt  _ impossible, _ and he could only shake his head.  

“Don’t give me that, keep moving.”  

Harsh words of affection, he knew.  The SAS tended to be a harsher bunch, not mincing their words or caring for niceties.  When he took a step up into the helicopter, he more or less collapsed in their arms. He just  _ couldn’t keep going- _

“Mark!  Stay with me, you aren’t allowed to quit on me.”  

It was a struggle to breathe.   _ Am I in shock?  Panicking?  _ Thatcher’s hands took his mask off, then rested on his face.  

“Focus on me, Mark.  Breathe in.” 

Thatcher took deep, steady breaths, trying to get Mute to follow his lead.  The younger operator was managing for now, but it was clear he was in extreme pain.  Sledge was in the cockpit, utilizing the radio while Clash stowed her shield. 

“Porter, what the bloody hell did you do?”

She glared at Smoke, who was sitting back in the helicopter seat.  

“The fuck are you yellin’ at me for?  I did what I could to make ‘im stop bleeding all over the pissin’ floor.”

Thatcher tore the uniform away, making a note to get a new one for him in the future, and carefully inspected the injury.  Clash turned her attention from Smoke to Mute. 

“Be pissy at me all you fuckin’ want, Morowa, but he’s still here and not a corpse on the floor, thousands of miles from home.”

“Both of you can shut it and wait until we get back home for this!”

Thatcher snapped as Sledge walked back into the cabin.  

“We’ll be back to base in ten minutes, Doc’ll be waitin’ when we land.  How is ‘e?” 

He nodded towards Mute, whose back was against the wall as he sat on the floor.  Thatcher didn’t bother looking towards Sledge. 

“He’ll be fine, just in pain.  Doc’ll get him sorted out.” 

Sledge nodded, moving to sit beside Smoke.  Clash sat down next to him, letting Thatcher take care of Mute as much as possible.  The rest of the ride back was silent, but not uncomfortably so, more relieved that their youngest teammate was alright.  


	26. Waterflow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kapkan suffers from a PTSD attack, but Doc helps him out.

Kapkan was not a weak person.  He knew it well, and every other Rainbow operator knew it too.  He knew how the world worked, cruel and unforgiving even to those at their very lowest and taking without mercy or remorse.  He didn’t have dreams of changing the world like some of the others did, no belief that he could keep others from deciding to be vicious and destructive to the people around them.  Yet, he still dedicated himself to Rainbow, knowing that change would have to start somewhere, and here he was with the best of the best. 

He didn’t need the recognition, having to walk through a sea of people that were trying to thank him, pay him, give him treasures to show their gratefulness and nearly refusing to accept his shake of the head and polite declines.  The important part to him was that these people were alive; young students in college able to aim for their life dreams without it being so heartlessly ripped away. 

He jumped at the sudden explosion, mind suddenly racing with the _horrid familiarity,_ and the keen sense that _he couldn’t do this again, not with so many of the people he had grown close to here._ Deep seated memories rose to the surface again, as did the telltale signs of a PTSD attack; he couldn’t mistake it, not when he spent so much time studying how the human mind works with fear and adrenaline.  He quickly and quietly left to find solitude, not wanting to be around others, to be _crowded and cramped_ _and intensely vigilant for the slightest threat._

Doc didn’t know who set the firework off.  It was a well-intended action, he knew. The people resting and being checked out before going home could always use something to distract them, and the bright lights in the sky caught everyone’s attention.  It made all of Rainbow jump in surprise, but Doc knew Kapkan was reacting especially poorly. His wide eyes had looked around quickly before taking off, almost faster than he could believe that the man could run.  He had to make sure that his fellow operator was okay. 

Kapkan hadn’t made the effort to keep his tracks incredibly hidden, but the footsteps were still carefully placed.  Doc was thankful for that fact, knowing too well that when Kapkan didn’t want to be found, he was just like a ghost.  The sound of running water made Doc narrow his eyes. He hadn’t even known there was a river behind the school’s main building, but it didn’t surprise him that Kapkan noticed.  It would be near impossible to hear the trapper over the sound of the running water, not because the water was loud, but because Kapkan was  _ near silent.   _

“Kapkan!  Mon ami, it’s just me!”

The sound of the small river, more like a creek, was the only sound in the silence of the evening.  Doc sighed quietly, looking for anything that might give away where Kapkan would be. The footsteps he saw lead downstream, but something was… off.  They were no longer careful, broken twigs and crunched leaves in the way. He still followed them, but stayed cautious. The idea of walking into an ambush set by the trapper wasn’t out of his mind.  When the footsteps suddenly stopped, he knew he was near the ambush point. 

“Mon ami, let me help.   _ S’il vous pla _ _ î _ _ t.”   _

Nothing.  No, there was a quiet rustling of bushes to his left, immediately earning his attention.  At a first glance, Kapkan seemed fine, but Doc knew the others of his team well, and Kapkan was most certainly  _ not  _ fine.  

“Don’t be formal with me.”  

Kapkan’s harsh words hardly surprised him.   _ He must be picking up on French.   _

“S’il te pla î t, then.  Deep breaths, mon ami.  It was a firework.”

_ A firework.   _ The words repeated in Kapkan’s head, almost as if it was foreign.  Yet he couldn’t get the images out of his head, of Beslan, of the  _ people  _ and  _ carnage- _

“Maxim, look at me.”  

Doc’s stern voice and his real name jarred him back to reality.  He wasn’t there anymore, this wasn’t Beslan, and while he wasn’t so foolish to try and tell himself that nothing like it would happen again, that was the whole  _ purpose _ of him being in Rainbow, of doing what he could to make that a reality, step by step.  He didn’t even realize when his breathing fell into step with Doc’s, slow and relaxing. Muscles he didn’t even know were tense finally relaxed, and he despised how clearly not in control of himself he had been. 

“Relax, mon ami.  You are alright, as all of us are.”  

He stayed quiet, letting the hum of the running water fill the absence of words.  There wasn’t anything he could say, but Doc at least understood. The reassuring hand on his shoulder helped him stay grounded, until he felt his heart calm and his breaths become more normal on their own.  

“Are you feeling ready to go back to the others?”

He simply nods.  He’s not a man of many words, but thankfully, Doc didn’t need to be given verbal confirmation on the wellbeing of others.  He had the ability to pick up on it easily, even if they did their best to show otherwise. Kapkan followed behind Doc, letting his mind wander in speculation about how Doc worked.  There was one thing he knew for certain, and that Doc was an admirable and unreplaceable teammate. 

And his friend.   


	27. Race Against Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lovely request for some Echo and Lesion action!

The mission was supposed to be rather simple.  Lesion was always laid back about missions, confident in his ability and the capability of his Gu mines.  Alongside Echo and his Yokai drones, he was sure they didn’t have a single thing to worry about. 

_ Oh, how wrong he was.   _

It had been an honest mistake.  Echo not realizing where Lesion had placed one of his mines, and detonating it in a completely different room from where he was, with a large group of hostiles between them.  It was hardly something that he would ever like to face, even in a training mission, but here he was faced with the harsh reality. Echo needed his help badly. 

“ _ Lesion, hurry, will you?  Your mines hurt.”  _

Echo’s voice over the radio was still his characteristic self, which gave him some comfort.  He wasn’t feeling bad enough to be out of sorts yet. His training with the SAS gave him plenty of experience with sass and snark, getting plenty from James and Mark.  Lesion kept the toothpick in his mouth, moving as quick as he could while being cautious. 

Echo was managing the best he could.  Yokai allowed him to stay behind the deployable shield and try to ignore the pain in his leg as best as he could.  The white masks outside the room were simply holding the door, and the risk of pulling out the needle was too great for him to take it.  Do so at the wrong moment, and he’d risk getting shot. 

_ “Have Yokai give me a hand?”   _

Echo nodded briefly to Lesion’s question over the radio, spotting his teammate at the end of the hallway through Yokai’s view.  He aimed the sonic blasts at the group of terrorists, giving Lesion the time necessary to take them out. Echo let out a groan, sitting behind the shield and trying to find the needle to pull out.  The pain was radiating in his lower leg, and it had embedded itself somewhere amidst his pants. 

“Sitting around still?”

“Shut up and help me.”  

Echo scooted back to allow Lesion over the shield.  

“Why are your needles so difficult to find?”  

Lesion grinned.  

“They wouldn’t be effective if you could see them easily, Echo.”  

“Just hurry up and get it out.”  

He was starting to breathe heavier, poison slowing his motions.  Lesion was incredibly skilled at picking out his own device, pulling it out without warning and earning a hiss of pain from Echo.  

“You could have given me a warning.”  

“You did tell me to hurry.  I would have thought you were prepared.”  

Lesion grinned at the scowl Echo gave him, pulling out an antidote he kept on hand for his poison.  They wore off on their own, but Echo was most definitely not in the mood to wait for that to happen.  

“You should feel better.”  

“Next time, watch where your mines are.”  

“Watch where you step?”  

“...Shut it.”


	28. Blink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blitz and IQ both know well a lot can happen in the blink of an eye.

IQ wasn’t a fan of the cold.  Even though her common nickname was ‘Ice Queen’, she despised frigid temperatures.  This didn’t change on missions, especially when sent to one of the colder areas of the world, but she tended to keep quiet until the mission was done.  This mission on a yacht frozen in Canadian ice was a prime example. 

Blitz had been more than happy to offer to sit close and keep her warm, but she had adamantly refused.  He made sure to still stay as close as she allowed, not wanting her to get sick on account of her pride.  They simply had to clear out the yacht, with a few White Masks occupying the derelict ship. 

“Little chilly for the Ice Queen, hm?”

“I’m not immune to the elements.”

He chuckled quietly, then stood when their helicopter touched down.  

“I’ll check the second floor, if you’d like to join me.”

“It will be faster if we clear rooms separately.”

“Do you despise my company?  I’m hurt, IQ.”

“I would rather get this done as soon as possible and not waste time.”

He couldn’t help quiet laughs, adjusting his grip on his shield and moving forward without another second of hesitation. IQ made her way to the closed gate, readying a breach charge to make an entrance inside.  A quick check on her scanner told her there were no electronics inside. With the charge detonating, she moved off to the side and sent her drone in first.  _ Several hostiles, all waiting for a target.   _ She kept moving her drone around, using it to distract them and give her the opportunity to move in safely.  

They were easy to handle, giving her the chance to move in out of the snow.  Gunfire above her told her that Blitz was handling terrorists on the upper floor, in a far faster and more reckless manner.   _ As always.   _ Her intention was to check the top floor together, but it might not be necessary with how fast he was moving.  

“Call if you need my assistance, Blitz.”

“Everything will be fine!  I’ve got this covered, IQ.”

She nodded and gave a simply confirmation that she heard his call, moving carefully to the doorway out of what seemed to be a supply room.  She heard the unmistakable beep of a bomber suit before she felt the distinct burning pain of bullets piercing her side, letting out a loud cry of pain.  She moved behind a stack of crates, collapsing behind it and putting pressure on her side and hearing the heavy footsteps get closer. It was close,  _ looming _ just on the other side of the crates, and she was sure her failure to notice the bomber behind her or even check would be fatal.  

The footsteps storming closer were barely audible to her over the pounding heartbeat in her head.  She closed her eyes, pressing down harder and hoping  _ maybe,  _ she got a few moments longer before the terrorists closed in.  

_ “Lächeln!”   _

She looked up from behind the crates, seeing Blitz rushing in and activating his shield to blind the bomber before he could take another step.  A few bullet shots to the facemask meant one less threat. He quickly moved over to her, pressing his hand down on her side and giving a cheeky grin at her wince.  

“If you wanted my attention so bad, you could have just said so, ja?”

She rolled her eyes as she felt him press harder to stifle the blood flow.  At the hiss of pain, his smile softened. 

“You’ll be alright, don’t worry.”

“We still need to-”

“No, we will be fine.  I’m more concerned about you than our mission.”

He saw clearly how she bit her lip, biting back another retort.  

“They are few and far between, IQ.  Any targets left can be handled by the team that will swap with us when we get extracted out.”

She hesitantly nodding, accepting his help to her feet.  She hated how quickly she faltered in the blink of an eye, but grateful that Blitz was there, remarkably like how he tended to be anytime she misstepped.  

_ Hm.   _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so weak for this ship, I'm not too sorry about writing a lot for them, lol. This also largely happened to me in game, and thank god my friend was there to save my life.


	29. Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A self indulgent fluff piece I wrote for my favorite pairing of all time.

Monika quickly got annoyed with snow.  It was beautiful to look at, but there was always the annoyance of extra tasks tied with it, such as shoveling, being mindful of ice in the roads and sidewalks, and the annoying threat of getting sick if one stayed outside for just a bit too long.  Gloves made things difficult at times, but she also much preferred being able to feel her hands. 

Elias, on the other hand,  _ adored _ the winter wonderland that was currently outside of their base.  It had been his idea to lighten up and play in the snow, an idea that was met with a sly grin from Dominic, a curious tilt of the head from Marius, and a roll of the eyes from Monika.  

“We are not children.”

“Clearly, you’ve never been one either, Monika.”

Elias wasn’t surprised that Monika and Dominic were already going at each other.  Marius was content to simply watch, leaving Elias to step in again. 

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

Monika crossed her arms, turning her narrowed gaze to Elias.

“We could all end up horribly sick and in the medbay, restricted from our duties?”

Dominic crossed his arms, voice more monotone than normal.  “Oh no, how horrible. We get a cold. It’s the apocalypse.”

“We won’t get sick, unless Dominic decides to shove snow in my shirt  _ again.” _

Marius turned to Dominic, who simply gave a grin.  Elias shook his head with a thinly veiled smile.

“We can have a snowball fight, at the very least!  Instead of fighting in here.”

Dominic shrugged, turning to grab a heavier coat.  

“You can, I won’t.  I’d rather not have a snowball with ice in the center be thrown at my face,  _ Monika.”   _

“Stop being such a whiny little brat, Dominic.”

Elias shook his head.  “We’ll find something to do that won’t end in disaster.”  Elias could clearly see the way Marius’ eyebrows raised. 

“What?”

“Nothing.  Just that it’ll be a miracle for none of us to walk away without some embarrassing mark.”

Elias opened his mouth to say something, but quickly stopped.  He knew better by now than to ask what Marius meant, especially with how close he and Dominic were.   _ A recipe for trouble.   _ He went to get a heavier coat, not keen on getting sick anytime soon on account of what was intending to be a fun day out.  

They agreed to meet outside, in the expansive courtyard covered in a fluffy layer of thick snow.  Marius and Dominic were already talking, and Monika had her arms crossed talking to them. Elias was quick to join them.  

“Being the Ice Queen, you have a surprising hatred of the cold.’

“Why does everyone assume that the cold doesn’t bother me in the slightest?”

“Perhaps you should let it go.”

It took them all a moment to realize what Dominic was referencing with his deadpan tone, but Monika’s realization was the most obvious when she harshly pushed him into a snowbank.  Marius couldn’t hold back loud laughter, which prompted Dominic to reach out of the snow and pull him in. Monika smirked at the undignified yelp Marius let out, leaving Elias to simply shake his head in amusement.

“That’s a new record, ja?  Not even a minute and someone’s already on the ground.”

Dominic poked his head out from the snowbank, wiping snow away from his face.  

“Not my fault the hellhounds’ owner can’t take a joke.”

“It isn’t my fault you are all insufferable idiots.”

“I haven’t even done anything, liebling!”  Elias was quick to retort. Monika turned to say something back to Elias, before she was met with a face full of snow from a grinning Dominic and Marius.  He’s too slow to stop Monika from grabbing armfuls of snow and dumping it on top of them, effectively burying Dominic and Marius in snow, but still picks her up before she can sit on top of the snowbank.

“Elias!  Put me down!”

“Not a chance,  kätzchen.”

“ _ Elias! _ ”

He simply laughed as Marius dug himself out of the snow hill, Dominic showing his head shortly after.  Monika gives up trying to free herself from over Elias’ shoulder, letting out a sigh. Elias adjusted his grip, holding Monika bridal style now and grinning to her before letting himself fall back into another snowbank with a flurry of snow.  

“Elias…  Are you serious?”

“Of course!  Isn’t this nice?”

“It’s  _ cold _ .”

“It’s snow, liebling.  It’s not supposed to be warm.”  

She huffed, grabbing a handful of snow and shoving it into his face.  He shook his head to get away from the cold, still laughing. 

“Come on, Monika!”

He knew she was enjoying herself, and he was glad to take a face full of snow to get her to have fun with no intent to win or be the best.  He wasn’t too sure how long they ended up outside in the snow, but he was more than happy to end it with a blanket wrapped around him and Monika in his lap.  He wrapped his arms around his stomach to hold her close, lounging back in his bed and enjoying the warmth. 


	30. Bury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vigil works alone, and no one really thinks about it.

Vigil on a team was always a bit of a strange addition; he didn’t tend to speak unless necessary, and oftentimes he was only evidenced by the trail he left behind of handled terrorists.  He was highly efficient as an operator, often working alone to surprise enemies and take them down before they ever knew what was going on. He and Caveira weren’t too different in that regard, just with different ways of going about it.  

_ “Vigil, clear the top floor.”   _

“Understood.”  

Blackbeard was leading the mission, and he knew Vigil well enough to trust the Korean operator’s skill in handling something on his own.  It was something that involved some recruits, eager for field experience, and it made Blackbeard feel better knowing that Vigil was on his side, able to handle anything with near unparalleled prowess.  

The top floor was the most crowded, from what Vigil could see.   _ No problem.   _ His K1A always packed a silencer, and the SMG-12 was a quiet gun regardless.  Already, he had a plan to clear out the first room, opting to use his knife for quieter takedowns as White Masks tried moving downstairs.  None of them knew he was there just yet, and he more or less tuned out the radio chatter unless his name was mentioned.

It was a methodical process, one he did so with deadly efficiency.  His focus only wavered when he caught his name over the radio. 

_ “-Vigil.  Targets closing in on you, be ready.”   _

Blackbeard sounded concerned.  That rarely happened. Vigil turned his attention to where he heard footsteps, activating his device.  They didn’t know where he was, and he could hear them coming quickly.  _ Three sets of footsteps, one of them a bomber.   _

He stays still as he hears them walk past him, slowly moving once he’s sure they’re past him.  His rifle aims first for the tank on the bomber’s back, then quickly to the back of the less armored Masks.  The bomber is the tougher threat, but bullets meeting the face mask when he turns around render the threat handled.  

He hears the gunfire behind him, turning quickly to take out the remaining Mask that had lagged behind for some reason.  The threat is handled, but Vigil can hear Blackbeard over the radio. 

_ “Got it covered?”   _

“Handled.”  

Vigil takes a deep breath out.  Something was wrong, and he could tell.  He looks down at his uniform; his gadget his okay, but he clearly notices the darker stains on the black gear.  He can recognize it as blood, and his own. It’s not bad yet, he knows, and there are still hostiles on the top floor.  Only a few left, from what he had seen, but the wound could get much worse. And of course, they had heard the gunfire and had come to check out the situation.  

He opted to hide in the darker corner he originally hid in when they had come up the stairs, almost hoping they simply passed him over.  He could hear the chatter over the radio in his ear, all of it unconcerned for him. Of course; he was a typically silent person regardless.  His side was starting to hurt now as time passed, and the White Masks were refusing to leave. He stays entirely silently, watching their shadows carefully from his hiding place.  He has to act now. 

He’s grateful for the silencer on his K1A, giving him the time to take aim and put bullets in his target’s heads.  Only two targets, and he could very easily hear the recruits following Blackbeard around the top floor, making sure the rest of the floor is clear.  He hears the gunfire of Blackbeard’s gun, giving Vigil a good idea of where to go. 

_ “Vigil, you alright?  Not like you to leave things unfinished.”   _

He knows not to lie to Blackbeard.  

“I do need assistance.”  

Even with the pain growing in his side, he stayed as calm as he could.  He couldn’t freak out now, it wouldn’t do anything. Blackbeard more or less ran over to him, rifle shield off of his SR-25.  

“Vigil?  God, that looks bad.  Come on, we’ve got the place cleared out.”  

He didn’t need to see Blackbeard’s eyes to know the man was concerned.  Blackbeard supports Vigil’s weight, putting pressure on his side to stop the bleeding.  

“Make sure our route to extraction is clear.  Watch each other’s backs, no matter what. Clear?”

The recruits nod, moving ahead of the two.  When they’re out of earshot, Vigil can hear Blackbeard whisper.  

“Sorry, I didn’t think anything was wrong.”  

He shakes his head in response. 

_ No one ever did, and that was how he preferred it; emotions and feelings buried deep in the earth.   _


	31. Slow Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vigil doesn't want to slow the others down.

Vigil didn’t get sick.  He made sure of it, keeping himself in a healthy routine of exercise and eating properly.  He needed to take care of himself well if he expected to perform well as an operator of Rainbow.  He took extra steps when it was especially easy to get sick, finding it better to be safe rather than feel the consequences of it later.

He knew the signs of getting sick, even though he had never been sick before personally.  He didn’t need to when he had seen it, and couldn’t be dragged down by it and the memories he was supposed to bury and forget.  

He had told Blackbeard he wouldn’t be able to train with him for a few days.  He needed to recover as quickly as possible, and he knew he couldn’t do that if he strained himself thin.  The SEAL had been understanding, telling him to take the time he needed. He made sure to stay warm, eat well and rest plenty, ignoring the pit of fear in his stomach.   _ This time is different.   _

Dokkaebi noticed the absence of a lingering shadow in the form of Vigil, at first grateful for the newfound freedom.  But, as time passed, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Vigil had never gone a few days without saying anything to her.  She had to investigate his room. 

“Chul Kyung?”

She could hear the shifting in his room.  He was normally an incredibly quiet individual.

“Open the door, Chul Kyung, or I’m opening it myself.”

When he doesn’t respond, she stays true to her word and gets his door open herself.  She pauses when she sees his mask on the nightstand by his bed. She could assume that the slightly moving mass under the blankets was Vigil.  She closed his door quickly, knowing he wouldn’t want anyone to see him like this. 

“Chul Kyung?  Are you alright?”

“ _ I’m fine, Grace.”   _

He definitely didn’t sound fine.  His voice was hoarse, clear signs of a sore throat.  It wasn’t like him at all to get sick, but it made sense now that he hadn’t been seen around base at all.  He was horribly sick if he didn’t even really feel like moving when she came in. 

“No, you’re not.  Have you even called Doc at all?”

The silence she was met with in response was all she needed to know the answer to her question.  He hadn’t even considered talking to Doc at all, Dokkaebi knew. 

“Seriously?  You’re really sick, Chul Kyung.”

He knows that well.  Even while doing everything he could to recover, it hadn’t seemed to help.  Being sick was a weakness they couldn’t afford, and Vigil knew that going out on missions while sick was a disaster waiting to happen.  He wouldn’t slow them down like that. 

Grace hummed, walking over to the door.  

“I’ll get you some medicine from Doc.”

He doesn’t say anything as she leaves.  He figures she’ll be back soon, but part of him hopes she isn’t.  He doesn’t want to drag anyone down, and there was a very high risk of her getting sick, too.  If he wasn’t feeling so weak, he’d get up and lock the door again. Instead, it opens when Dokkaebi comes back.  

_ “You’ll get sick too, Eun Hye.”   _

She huffs at the use of her real name, but she wasn’t going to leave him sick and suffering.  

“Just take your medicine, Chul Kyung.  It’ll help, you know.”

She puts it on the nightstand, scooting his mask aside.  She’s fine with sitting in the chair at his desk, idling on her tablet while Vigil rested.  She had never seen him so sick before, even to the point where he was unwilling to move. She can hear him shift slightly to grab the pills given to him.  She had made sure to put a bottle of water on the nightstand. 

She was fine with sitting in the chair all night long to stick with him.  It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep at his desk.

 


	32. Sense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kapkan always trusts his senses, especially when his teammate needs his help.

Being on missions with the other Spetsnaz was a strange comfort.  Glaz knew the others well, how they liked to operate, and how they were inclined to react to certain situations.  It made everything predictable, and he knew he could bet on Fuze clearing rooms solo, Tachanka and Kapkan making sure that the White Masks didn’t go through rooms they already cleared, and Finka was there to support them the entire way.  

He preferred to stay back, his rifle was far better at longer ranges, and he was more comfortable as a sort of observer, keeping an eye on the battlefield and keeping his eye out for any movement that didn’t match his teammates.  He stayed with his team for the most part, knowing that staying far out of their range meant that if a threat got too close, he would suffer the consequences of it. 

He stayed behind Finka, while Kapkan and Tachanka stayed farther back and secured a safe area to fall back to in case they needed, or if White Masks roaming around got too close.  Fuze stayed near him and Finka, but made sure they stayed far enough away from his Matryoshka devices.

“Kapkan and I are ready.  Don’t slack off now!”

“We won’t, Tachanka.  Try not to fall asleep!”

Glaz shook his head slightly at Finka and Tachanka’s banter.  It was common, especially on missions. He was fine to follow Finka’s lead, as both she and Tachanka were more than happy to take the lead where the others didn’t.  She was the youngest out of all of them, yet somehow, Glaz was the one that got a lot of the softer teasing for his age.  _ Fine, so be it.   _

“Glaz, take that room to the right.  Fuze’ll take left, I’ll check ahead.”

Both of them nodded in confirmation, Glaz heading right to check the room.  He threw a smoke grenade in first, knowing he had the advantage with obscured vision through his scope.  He didn’t see any targets as he slowly made his way in, but knew that could change at any moment, or they could be hiding behind cover.  

He moved carefully, hearing the distant sounds of the matryoshka explosives going off.  Finka was more than capable on her own, leaving him to sort out the threats in his vicinity.  It took him a moment to recognize the flashbang thrown at him, not able to react before it went off in his face.  He cried out in surprise, moving back to where he last remembered there being cover. 

He cried out in pain at the sudden bash to the back of his head.  An enemy behind him; but for now he couldn’t even see anything. His ears were ringing, and he felt the distinct press of the rifle barrel against his head.  They were saying something, but he couldn’t make it out. He was pushed harshly to the ground, boot pressing down on his back and rifle ripped from his hand. 

He heard the radio flicker to life in his ear, but he couldn’t make that out, either.  He blinked rapidly when he felt the surge, but his vision didn’t come back.  _ No no no- _

The pressure on his back wavered for a moment, giving him the time to spin around and throw his ambusher to the ground.  He still couldn’t see where they were, only able to hear roughly where the terrorist was. He heard shuffling, trying to make out where exactly it was, before he was pushed onto his back with a firm weight against his chest, knife point against his throat.  

He felt blood start flowing as the knife point dug in deeper.  He let out a strained shout, trying to push the aggressor off of him.  The weight was released, but he knew it wasn’t solely because of him. He heard Fuze growl, then the distinct slam of a person hitting the ground hard, followed shortly by a solid  _ CRACK!   _

“Glaz?  Can you hear me?”

His heart was racing, with the adrenaline of the moment and of the surge.  Finka’s voice was a relief.

“I can hear you, but I can’t see still.”   _ I can’t go blind!   _

“Tachanka, Kapkan, we’re bringing Glaz to you.  Keep holding your location.”

Finka and Fuze helped him to his feet quickly, moving back to the rooms the defenders had secured.  It was jarring not to see where he was going, but he trusted that his teammates would keep him from walking right into danger.  

“Glaz, are you alright?”

Tachanka’s voice made itself clear, even from where Kapkan was waiting patiently for the slightest sound out of place.  He looked over, Finka and Fuze making sure he was handed off to Tachanka. 

“I’m fine, but my sight hasn’t…”

Kapkan stiffened.  He could tell that Glaz was uneasy.  Not being able to see was a fair reason as to why, especially for their resident sniper.  His chest was rising and falling quickly with rapid breaths, and Kapkan could easily see how tense and afraid Glaz was.  Tachanka made sure to set Glaz down in cover, in a part of the room where anyone trying to shoot him would be in clear sight of either of the defenders.

“Sit there and relax.  You’ll be fine, Glazkov.”

Glaz’s breath was shaky, and wouldn’t get better on it’s own, Kapkan knew.  He made sure his EDD’s had the doorways covered before he got up to check on Glaz.  

“Glaz.  Calm down, we’re right here.”  

“I still can’t-”

“I know, but breathe.  It will take time, but you will be fine.”

He nodded, taking deep breaths.  Kapkan took up a position near Glaz, determined to stay nearby.  They’d need Doc as soon as possible after this, he knew. It was silent except for the radio and the shuffling from Tachanka and Glaz, but something felt off.  It wasn’t right, and Kapkan knew better than to ignore how he felt. 

He moved slowly towards the doorway, then to a window he had barricaded prior.  The window was open now, meaning an enemy had gotten inside. He moved quietly, hearing quiet whispers.  Three voices, by the reinforced wall that Glaz was sitting near. One with a shield, setting up an explosive charge.  He grabbed the package of Nitro he carried, throwing it quickly and detonating it without much more hesitation. Shrapnel hit against metal, and he simply knew that the shield bearing terrorist was still up.  

He waited patiently around the corner of the wall, listening carefully.  He drew his knife, ready to strike until the right moment. He yanked the shield away from the terrorist, driving the blade into the other’s neck.  He let out a quiet breath, then made sure the charge was destroyed before heading back into the reinforced room. 

“ _ Everything clear over here.  We’re heading back now. How’s Glaz?” _

Finka was concerned, and Kapkan didn’t blame her.  Tachanka was beside Glaz, his LMG already packed up on his back.  

“Still alright.  Vision’s a little spotty, but coming back.”

Kapkan breathed a sigh of relief.  Finka and Fuze were coming back quickly, and their extraction would be there shortly.  Tachanka helped Glaz up, flanked by Kapkan. They were Spetsnaz, and he knew they would all rather suffer than leave one of their own.  


	33. Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story I wrote for a trade, in which Jäger wants to remember the fonder moments.

He didn’t want to believe the news that Doc was telling him.  He couldn’t, but Bandit was always a person of harsh cynicism.  The facts simply were clear in front of him. After extracting Jäger out of the hot zone in the middle of a roach infested zone, he had gotten infected with the virus.  IIt shouldn’t have been surprising, they were still working out how the disease spread, and how it turned human beings into horrible, mindless monsters, but that didn’t mean it was a truth he wanted to hear.

He had been livid to hear that Jäger was injured, demanding both Ash and Doc tell him where the GSG9 pilot and operator was.  They insisted that Jäger was safe, but that Bandit couldn’t go see him yet. It had taken a long conversation for Doc to even calm Bandit down, Ash preoccupied with work with Doctor Mackintosh.  He crossed his arms, rage in his eyes replaced with firm determination.

“I want to see him.”

“Dominic, he won’t be-”

“I don’t  _ care, _ ” Bandit hisses.  “I need to see him.”  

They both know there’s a chance that Jäger won’t pull through and recover.  Even with Doctor Mackintosh working on a cure and vaccination, it might not be in time for the operator.  Doc sighs; he knows how determined Bandit can be. 

“Very well.  But you will leave  _ all  _ of your gear here and put on protective hazard gear.”

He knew the Germans fairly well, and he didn’t want Bandit acting hastily at Jäger’s pleading.  When they had found out he was infected, the pilot had been dead set on begging, not wanting to become a monster himself.  The two German defenders were extremely close.

“Fine by me.  Thank you, Doc.”

Doc nods as he directs Bandit to the room to change into the hazmat gear.  It’s almost strange, to hear a genuine thanks from someone as stoic and snarky as Bandit.  But then again, nothing about this situation was normal.

 

* * *

Bandit hadn’t been quite sure what to expect when he walked into the quarantine room.  He recognized Jäger’s gear, but seeing his teammate cowering in the corner, in obvious pain with red spikes emerging from his shoulders and arms was horrible to see.  He almost didn’t want to believe it was Jäger. He couldn’t imagine the pain Jäger was feeling, either.

“Marius.”

Jäger looked up at the sound of his voice.  It wasn’t hard to see how terrified Jäger was, even with the helmet still on him.  

“Dominic…  Why are you here?”

It hurts to hear Jäger’s voice so frightened.  This could be his last moments, Bandit knows. He knows what happens to those infected by the virus.  It sounds right out of a zombie movie or novel, and Bandit knew he wasn’t making it any different from one, hand drifting to the pistol he snuck in at his side.

“I wanted to see you.”

Jäger shook his head, struggling to keep his voice level.

“I don’t… want you seeing me like this.”

_ Of course not.   _ Bandit takes careful steps closer, fully aware of how Jäger shakes his head more.  

“Don’t… come closer.  I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

The stutters were painful to hear, always accompanied by whines of pain.  Bandit knew there was nothing he could do to help ease the pain, even trying to hold Jäger while he shook would only make it worse.  The waves of pain were seemingly random, but Bandit didn’t miss how each time, Jäger’s cries sounded more and more like growls. 

“Dominic…”

Bandit stiffens.  He knows what Jäger is going to say, and even came prepared for it, but that didn’t make it any easier.  He hoped that Doc and Mackintosh would come up with a solution quickly, but he wasn’t sure if it would be too late.  

“I don’t… want to become one of those things… I won’t remember you, or anyone…”

Bandit isn’t crying.  He isn’t the type to cry; the stinging in his eyes is just something in them. 

“ _ Please…”   _

He looks at the handgun he’s holding, checking the ammo.   _ Still loaded.   _ Jäger didn’t have much time left, if any more than a few minutes.  He might have to soon regardless, no matter how much he didn’t want to.  Their job was never an easy one. He took a deep breath, raising the pistol to aim it.   _ Ignore his crying.   _

With a turn of his head and with eyes closed, he fired.  

 

* * *

Doc had been working tirelessly with Mackintosh to find a meaningful result from her research.  It was her expertise that had proven invaluable, just as he hoped would be the case when he proposed extracting her.  He only relaxed when they had made a breakthrough, a small sample entirely destroyed through the use of the newfound cure.  His concern now was to rush it to Jäger, and pray that it worked against a bigger threat.

He stopped by the quarantine area, where Bandit’s gear was to grab his own suit.  Then, something caught his eye.  _ A missing handgun.   _ Dread quickly formed in the pit of his stomach, urging him to move faster.  He had to get there before something drastic happened, especially not when they were so close.  He rushed through the building, protective gear on and the small container that was the best chance of saving Jäger’s life.  

The gunshot made him curse under his breath.   _ Damn it, Dominic!   _ He rushed as fast as he could, not keen on giving up yet.  When he got to Jäger’s cell, he could see Bandit leaning against the wall beside the door.  His head was hanging, pistol still in his grip. He didn’t have time to scold Bandit now, rushing into the cell and to Jäger’s side.  He had to try with the cure, making sure to work quickly. 

He hated the whimper that came from Jäger, but it was a sign that he was alive still.  He looked up, spotting the indent in the wall where the bullet had hit. 

_ Thank God.   _


	34. Grudge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another song fic type thing, this time with Bandit and "I Can Hold A Grudge Like Nobody's Business" by Adam Jensen!

_ Welcome to the wasteland. _

Bandit’s used to being alone.  Being undercover often meant he could only rely on himself, and had to stay alert at any given moment.  There was always the risk of someone around him discovering who he was, and that he would meet an end sooner than he’d like.  Some called it paranoia; he called it caution and survival. 

_ Just another broken man.   _

Not many could stomach what he had to do.  Killing people - enjoying it, sometimes, when all traces were erased and it was like the thorn in his side had never existed - was always hard.  Wasn’t it? 

_ Tangled in the words that I cannot say.   _

He couldn’t ever explain the Hell’s Angels to someone else.  That was the hardest part. No one needed to know the details anyway, but the experience still lingered on his mind.  Even still, he held a special pride in being able to do it so well. It had been a necessity, but not many could do it with the expertise he had shown.  

_ Living just to say goodbye.   _

That didn’t mean it didn’t leave it’s marks.  He wouldn’t be on the roof, sneaking a cigarette if it hadn’t.  He managed the best he could, knowing that some problems couldn’t be fixed so quickly.  

_ Save me from myself, this ride.   _

Yet he pushed people away, for the most part, intentional or not.  He had adopted a personality and attitude based on a foundation of snark and disinterest.  It kept people from caring too much about him, from digging things up that would make it impossible for them to look at him the same way again.  

_ Can you see the words written on my face?   _

He can only wonder how often people see through his detached tone.  If they see how much he can still care. That he hasn’t lost any semblance of a heart in his chest.  But he doesn’t want them to care. Doesn’t want a repeat of what nearly killed his closest family. 

_ You got me actin’ like the old me.   _

The Dominic back then wasn’t that much different, but everyone knew how willing he was to kill for Cedrick, and vice versa.  He knows what it’s like to care so much for someone, and he can feel the emotion trying to ease it’s way back into his heart.  

_ But you don’t even know me.   _

No one knew him as well as Cedrick did.  He didn’t try opening up that much to anyone else, didn’t particularly care to.  Cedrick had cared, and look where he was now? Retired because of him, and the devices he’s so fond of using.  It’s painfully ironic. 

_ Can I get a witness?   _

It’s hard for anyone else to believe the things he’s done.  Cedrick knows, Bandit is all too aware, but Cedrick knows him as well as himself.  They’re twins, after all. He doesn’t mind, but the idea of anyone else knowing him that well is hard to think about.  

_ ‘Cause I can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.   _

He’s far too spiteful, and he knows it. Regret is not something he’s been familiar with in a long time.  It’s better that most know that about him.

_ Seein’ double vision.   _

He misses working with Cedrick.  They messed around a lot, sure, but there was no one else he’d rather have covering his back.  They were a terrifying team, and it was all the more entertaining to wear identical uniforms. 

_ Show me what you got and I’ll show you what you’re missing.   _

Cedrick tended to keep him grounded.  At least, enough that he didn’t get too spiteful in pursuits of revenge.  It had only gotten worse on his own as time passed when he and Cedrick had gone their separate ways.  One of the consequences of being alone, he figured. 

_ ‘Cause I can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.   _

He lets out a deep breath, smoke dispersing into the cool air in front of him.  Reminiscing and regretting is hardly worth his time. Yet, here he is. 

_ Think I’m going crazy.   _

It’s strange, and he can’t help softly laughing to himself.  He hates these sentimental moments. They aren’t like him. The person he prefers to be, anyway.  

_ Standin’ in a crowded street, Peaceful in the eye of a hurricane.   _

He’s at least good at hiding it.  Even the other GSG9 operators don’t know the extent of his emotions more often than not, and he’s all too able to pick up on their emotions.  Years of practical training, where a mistake would mean death, had let to it. It was an old habit that wouldn’t die anytime soon. 

_ Cigarettes and sadness, a little bit of madness.   _

He had a number of bad habits, including his penchant for pranks and messing with others.  Better that than self destruction. Not to mention, he did work on legitimate solutions for the stresses he felt.  He wasn’t stupid, not by any means. He just did things differently.

_ Mixing with the chemicals in my brain.   _

He really needed to quit smoking, though.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for my big absence! I'll be hopefully writing quite a bit more.


	35. Grounding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jäger finds Bandit's jacket very comforting and grounding after a nightmare.

Nightmares weren’t uncommon for Marius.  Especially after the Outbreak of the Chimera virus and even with managing the trauma of what had happened.  As he had gotten closer to Dominic, he had been doing better with actually talking and working through those issues.  The only problem was that it left him unclear on what to do when Dominic was away, and he woke up from a nightmare not wanting to be alone.  Going back to sleep just wasn’t an option when the vivid images resurfaced whenever he tried to close his eyes and relax. 

He figured Dominic wouldn’t be upset if he let himself into his room.  It was far better than being alone in his own room. He grabbed a blanket from Dominic’s bed and wrapped it around himself, rubbing the fabric against his cheek.  His gaze idly wandered around the room, taking special note of everything there until his eyes settle on the desk, where Dominic’s jacket is laying across the surface.  Quickly, he tosses the blanket aside in favor of taking the jacket and putting it on. 

He zipped it up and buried the lower half of his face in it, noting how keenly it still smelled like Dominic.  He wrapped his arms around himself, enjoying the feeling of the fabric and the fondness he felt in his chest. Although exhaustion was starting to set in, he wasn’t keen on going back to his own room or taking the jacket off.  Coming up with a solution for both problems wasn’t difficult in the slightest.

* * *

 

Dominic was more than ready to get back and sleep, his attention required for something he really didn’t think was worth it.  With a quiet sigh of relief, he walks into his room, pausing when his attention settles on Marius, sleeping on his bed in  _ his own  _ jacket.  He’s able to spot the yellow stripes easily.  He quietly closes the door, not wanting to wake Marius up. 

The logical part of him figured that Marius had woken up from a nightmare and came here for a sense of comfort.  However,  _ another _ part of him was more focused on how much the sight of Marius wearing his clothes turned him on.  He took a deep breath to compose himself, opting to get comfortable and lay down next to Marius. There was always the morning to talk, and Marius sorely needed the sleep.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short and sweet, apologies for my absence! I've been struggling a little with motivation and a good frame of mind to write and post things.


	36. "I don't know why I'm crying."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A random sentence prompt for Jäger/IQ, since I've seen it around and wanted to run it through my head.

Jäger was used to working in the dead of night by himself in the workshop, usually by himself.  Most of the time he did this, it was because of being unable to sleep due to nightmares. This time, he had just gotten back from a mission, and his sleep schedule was taking time to readjust.  He decided to take the time to fix some of his Magpies that had been broken on said mission, rather than sit and do nothing. 

When he walked in, he didn’t expect to hear someone else around.  The most surprising part was that he actually  _ recognized  _ who it was.  

“Monika?”

_ What was she doing?  And why did it sound like she was crying?   _

“What do you want?”  

She even sounded more upset than usual while talking.  Something had to be wrong. He slowly walked over to where she was hunched over a table.  

“What’s wrong with you?”

Her sigh of annoyance was not a good thing to hear.  Even with his helmet on, he could see the tears in her eyes.  Maybe, he should have thought about the way he phrased that. She shrugged in response instead of snapping, which was a bit of a good sign.  

“I don’t know why I’m crying.”  

He doesn’t know what to say.  Understanding his own emotions was enough of a struggle, and trying to understand someone else’s when he had no idea what might have caused it?  He watches her shake her head, wiping her face. 

“It’s stupid.  Sitting here crying for no reason.”  

He huffs.  At least he can say something to that.  

“Emotions never make sense.  Not much you can do about it.”

She rolls her eyes, no longer crying.  

“You’re the worst for emotional help.”  

“I’m an engineer, not a therapist.  Maybe you should see one.”    
  
She shakes her head, shoving his shoulder in a playfully rough way.  

“ _ Asshole.”   _

_ At least she was feeling better. _


	37. Prepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gridlock always comes prepared. Mozzie doesn't.

Neither Mozzie or Gridlock were strangers to risks and dangers on missions, even when it came to unexpected circumstances.  They had a sort of system together, although typically unspoken, and White Mask threats proved to be a test of their ability to work together.  As new arrivals to Rainbow, their missions were around the world, and this time resulted in them heading to a frozen yacht in the frigid north. Gridlock had been sure to wear warmer clothes.  Mozzie, in his excitement,  _ forgot.   _

“Griiiiiid… I’m fuckin’ freezin’ my dick off.”

“Shoulda remembered your gear then, huh?”  

Mozzie groans, bouncing his leg rapidly as he waits for the helicopter to land.  Gridlock laughs, shaking her head and waiting patiently as ever. She already knows he’s going to be gone the moment they touch the ground.  Not that she minded.

“Get ready, we’re touching down soon.”

Mozzie was more than ready to go, and Gridlock was always amused by his eagerness.  When they landed, he was off like a bullet, leaving her to truck along behind him. It was a familiar scene, differences made all the more obvious each time, but it worked every time without failure.  

What wasn’t familiar was Mozzie’s shout, kicking her into gear as she raced towards him.  Mozzie had made his way outside, the front deck of the yacht coated in ice. His lack of preparation caught up to him, resulting in him slipping on the ice against a far more equipped White Mask.  Her rifle made quick work of the Mask, giving her the time to simply stand and watch Mozzie struggle to get to his feet. 

“How ya doin’, mate?”

“GRIDLOCK!  QUIT STANDIN’ THERE!”  

She laughed, shaking her head.  

“Maybe next time you’ll prepare for the cold.”  

He groaned, using the rail to get up and not slip again.  

“Fuck the cold, fuck the snow, fuck the ice, and FUCK THE NORTH!”  

She laughs again, turning to make sure nothing was left unchecked in the yacht itself.  Mozzie would be fine.


	38. Duties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A BlitzQ thing, and what his duties tend to be.

Elias couldn’t help be a little bit worried whenever Monika went on a mission without him.  She could take care of herself, he knew very well, but he always preferred to be there at her side.  They were skilled on their own, but worked even better together, and he felt most comfortable when he knew her safety was in his hands.  When he heard she was due to return from her latest mission, he was eager to meet her there - and ignore the teasing about being her puppy that he got from his teammates.  

The presence of the medstaff is slightly concerning, but he isn’t too worried until he notices that Monika is the only one who hadn’t gotten off the truck.  He’s quick to rush over, and can see the medics treating her blood-covered shoulder and back. 

“Monika?! Are you alright?”

She has to turn slightly to look over her shoulder at him, expression typically stern.  

“I’m fine, Elias.”  

_ “No, you aren’t!  What happened?”  _

She sighed, wondering why he even asked if he was going to deny her answer.  She’s relieved when the medics step back and let Elias in so she doesn’t strain herself to look over her shoulder.  

“I got hit escorting a hostage out.  I’m fine, Elias. Nothing serious.” 

He frowns, clearly not satisfied with the answer.  He’s the one meant to be getting hurt for others, not her.  It’s part of his job, especially with holding a shield. He always goes first, and draws fire, so no one else has to be hurt.  However, he knows there’s nothing he can do now, except carefully pick her up and carry her in his arms. 

“Come on, then.  You’re getting to bed to rest.”  

She hums in his arms, staying still to keep the bandages from tearing.  Her back still aches, but at least she won’t have to strain it with Elias sure to take care of her.  He dutifully carried her to her room, setting her down on her bed. 

“Anything else hurt, Monika?  Is there anything I can do?”

“I’m fine enough, Elias.  I just need to rest.”

He nods, adjusting to hold her close in his lap.  He knows he doesn’t need to, and that he  _ probably _ should leave her and go do other things that require his attention, but he has always made sure that his duty is to his team, and Monika was especially close.  He knew too she was fine, but that didn’t mean the worry eased in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, brushing hair out of her face and settling his hand against her cheek and neck.  Her eyes are closed and she seems relaxed enough. He brushes his thumb against her cheek, enjoying the peace and quiet and the quiet confirmation that she’s fine, nothing is stopping her from resting now.  It takes him a moment to realize she’s fully fallen asleep, her head leaning against his chest. 

Even if he wanted to get up, he wouldn’t be able to without disturbing her sleep.  He’s content to sit here with her, other duties could wait. 


	39. Sentiments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sweet sentiment Marius has always had.

Marius always looked forward to heading home after school and preoccupying himself with far better things to do.  While he enjoyed most of his time in school, and was only 2 years from becoming a legal adult and couldn’t quite wait to follow his uncle’s footsteps.  Even so, he tried to enjoy the moment now, but being forced in close proximity with other people he didn’t like was a struggle. His uncle always made things better, showing him how planes and helicopters operated and even letting him help fix them.  

He rushed home the first moment he could, eager to put his things down and join his uncle in the garage.     
  
_ “Marius!  I hear you!” _

He grinned widely, making his way into the garage.  

“Are you working on something new?”

Marius had noticed his uncle’s typical project, but the beat up plane riddled with bullet holes was new.  Somehow, it was still in one piece.  _ Miraculously.   _

“I am, but I’ve gotta head out soon to fix a heli.  I thought you’d wanna try working on your own project.”  

He lit up at the idea.  This would be his first time fixing something on his own.  His uncle wiped his hands clean, then ruffled Marius’ hair as he walked up.  

“You know the drill, call if something’s wrong.”

He nods, watching his uncle turn and walk out.  It leaves him alone in the garage with the broken down aircraft, and gives him the opportunity to look it over more closely.  It truly is a miracle that it’s even in one piece, let alone repairable. It would take a lot of work, but he was nothing if not determined and extremely good at what he did already.  He looks around briefly, confirming he’s alone, before he moves to climb into the cockpit. 

Normally, his uncle would tell him to focus on fixing it, but he wants to enjoy this rare treat.  He’s too small for the seat, hardly big enough to really fit comfortably. He still grins widely and puts his hands on the controls, pretending to fly it through the air and even dog fight with matching sound effects.  

He laughs and sits back once he’s had his fun, moving to climb out and grab the nearby tools his uncle got specifically for him to start looking into the actual problem.  The underside is riddled with bullet holes, and it amazes him that the engine isn’t scrap at this point. Although, it’s close to it, with the amount of damage Marius can see with just a quick glance.  He steps back and stands up straight, looking over the plane again and letting his hand brush along the side of it as he walked around it. 

Maybe, he was a bit sentimental about aircrafts and machinery like this.  Even though it wasn’t technically anything living, he was still sure that there was some reason that the plane had held out and kept it’s pilot safe.  He took his time walking around, patting the side fondly when he makes a full round. 

“Let’s fix that, shall we?”

He’s talking more to the aircraft than to any particular person, happy to get to work and give it the tender care it deserves.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deep apologies for being so absent! I hope this bit of cuteness makes up for it :D!


	40. Burning Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An out of the blue pairing of Ying/Glaz, based off a t-hunt game a dear friend of mine had and I just had to write it <3

Ying didn’t particularly care for the cold.  Hong Kong never got below her needing a light jacket to stay warm, meaning she never had to prepare for weather like the frigid winds of the French Alps.  She was used to clustered cities and streets, not forested expanses of mountainsides, but she would do whatever it took to bring people safely back home. 

Glaz was her mission partner this time around, and while he was better suited to the cold, she was still hesitant due to him being Spetsnaz.  He was Shuhrat’s teammate, and teams tended to stick together. 

“I won’t be waiting for you to catch up if you fall behind.”

Glaz hummed in response.  It was immediately easy to see why she and Shuhrat clashed, their personalities could be abrasive against each other.  He pushed thought aside; the hostage demanded their full attention. He always sought high ground on missions, preferring to handle threats where he outranged them, and they had no chance.  Ying could handle herself, clearing rooms as swiftly as possible on her own. Glaz was able to help from his vantage point in a tower by taking out any targets that entered his crosshairs. 

It was a routine like clockwork, Ying utilizing her candelas to get the advantage over large groups of enemies defending rooms, all while unaware of what she could do.  However, the hard part was just about to come. 

“Glaz, grabbing hostage.”

“Ready.”

She gently grabs the hostage’s arm when she gets the confirmation that Glaz heard her.  She wasn’t entirely helpless, but only able to hold her sidearm while guiding the hostage meant she didn’t have the same firepower as her rifle.  She’s impressed, though, that in her run out of the chalet, Glaz is taking down target after target in a matter of seconds. 

It’s only when she turns a corner on the path that she realizes Glaz’s blind spot behind a tree, recognizing the White Mask with a shotgun.  Her first concern is the hostage, she couldn’t get this far and fail. The pain rips into her back, making her stumble with the hostage underneath her, protected from the shot by Ying herself.  Her arms are shaky as she keeps herself up, not wanting to collapse on top of them and terrify them more. Hadn’t they screamed, or was that her? 

“Ying, hold on!”

Glaz knew he had to move.  He could at least see the White Mask that shot Ying, sending a bullet through his head.  He quickly slid down the ladder, rifle still in hand as he raced to get to her and taking out hostiles that remained.  He knew time was working against him, but he wasn’t going to have anyone die on him if he had the ability to do something about it.  

“Need medevac now! Operator down!  I repeat, operator down!”

Ying did her best to sit up after making sure the hostage was alright.  She didn’t want to have the cold snow against her back, but  _ God  _ the winds were biting and cold.  She can hear a gentle hum, but it doesn’t quite make any sense.  She can’t quite see what’s making sound. The hostage was still next to hear, sitting up and stunned, trying to figure out what to do.  She had to calm them down. 

“Everything… will be fine.  Don’t worry.”

Glaz can hear the helicopter as he gets to Ying and the hostage, the aircraft landing as he got up to them.  He urges the hostage to go to the heli, kneeling down to pick up Ying in his arms. By the time he got there, she was on her back, likely collapsed from the sudden shock of pain and blood loss.  He wasn’t any expert, but he knew he had to stop the bleeding. 

“Stay with me, Ying.”

He moves to carry her into the evac helicopter.  She needed to get warmer. 

“ _ Is… _ ”

“Hostage is secured.  Do  _ not _ close your eyes.”

He has to shift when he sits down to stifle the blood flow, holding her close to apply pressure and keep her warm.  She has to stay conscious. 

“Ying, keep talking.”

She shook her head, which made him sigh.  She was really out of it, and he was more than willing to press her buttons to make her keep talking.  

“Don’t give attitude now.  Save it for Shuhrat.” 

That certainly worked, based off the scowl and huff she gave him.  

_ “It’s not attitude..!  It’s… caring about other lives… beyond their physical safety.  It’s… making sure their lives are not… more traumatized..! How is that attitude?”   _

She was passionate, even with how she was struggling to keep her eyes open. 

“Tell me, then, what inspires you?  What keeps you going?”

She hesitated, did he really want to know?  Or was she just wasting time to stay awake?

_ “I’ve… always wanted to make sure… the people around me feel safe.  That they are safe. No matter what, it’s… my responsibility to do that.  I can’t risk lives and feel like… I’m doing what’s right.”  _

The nearest hospital couldn’t be far now.  

“Good, keep talking.”

_ “Do you really care what I have to say?  Or… are you just getting me to ramble about anything?”   _

He puts more pressure on her back, inadvertently making her whine.  

“I do care.  Keep telling me.”

She’s silent for a moment in her thoughts, but her breaths tell him she’s still there.  

“Just a little bit more.”

He’s sure she’ll be alright now, but he isn’t going to leave it to chance.  

_ “How do you… stand the cold like this?”   _

He couldn’t help a grin under his scarf.  

“We grow up with it.  You adapt.”

_ “All of you are… built like ovens.”   _

She shakes her head again, not able to wrap her head around it. He knew she meant all of the Spetsnaz, but he had to laugh quietly.  

“We are full of surprises, Siu.  Take some time to look into it back at base.”  

She lets out a quiet sigh.

_ “Don’t… start telling me what to do… just because you saved my life.”   _

She says it so casually that he’s sure she’s falling back to her normal self, so easy going and able to get along with anyone when she tried.  He knew well that her drive to protect people got ahead of her, but passion was one of the strongest motivations. If anyone were to ask him, he’d say it was one of the strongest emotions there is, capable of inspiring great things.  

He couldn’t help but respect hers.  


	41. New Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Thermite have a routine mission, up until it isn't routine. But Thermite isn't complaining about the outcome at all.

Ash and Thermite working together was hardly out of the ordinary.  Between them, there wasn’t any wall or obstacle that could get in their way.  They tended to go back and forth on who would take the lead, usually agreeing to go through their normal routine of Ash rushing in and Thermite following behind her, taking his time.  If something went wrong, they would deal with it then. 

This was just another mission, really, taking care of the White Mask threat reported in the house they were now clearing.  He was glad that the civilians had been taken to safety already, giving him the freedom to work without worrying about innocents in the way.  He and Ash tended to split up, but they were always still close to one another in case they needed assistance. 

He was taking more time to fully clear every room, making sure there was a safe point to fall back to and that once they left, there wasn’t anything that could potentially harm the people who lived here.  If it meant opening up walls to provide better pathways, so be it. But, he usually used his brimstones sparingly. He’s in the process of clearing a room, making sure points where they could hide behind cover were empty when he hears her yell.  

He rushes into action, racing over to the garage where he heard the yell from, but still being as cautious as he can.  The last thing he wants to do is to run right into danger and get himself hurt, or worse. When he races through the garage doorway, he’s relieved to see she’s taken care of the hostiles and is overall okay.  But, he just as clearly sees the bright red braid in her hands, and when her head turns to face him, the braid doesn’t follow. 

“Ash?”

_ “Don’t.  Say. Anything.”   _

He didn’t need to be a genius to know she was beyond pissed.  But, he also couldn’t deny that she was really cute with short hair.  

“Hey, it’ll be okay-”

**_“Don’t.”_ **

Right now, her concern is just getting to extract safely.  She knows for a fact the rest of opfor are taken care of, but she doesn’t want to run straight into a trap or be caught on camera revealing things they shouldn’t say to anyone.  The remaining hostile’s last ditch effort involved a handsaw, and it had cut straight through her braid. She was fine, and that was the important part, but she didn’t want to address her cut hair.  

It’s silent between them until extract arrives, Ash unwilling to say anything and Thermite not pushing his luck.  In the truck, he sits next to her, giving a small smile and admiring her new, impromptu look. 

“Eliza, really, it’s not so bad.  It looks nice!”

She sighs loudly, taking her head off and running her fingers through her hair.  It barely reached her shoulders, now. 

“Jordan,  _ stop mentioning it. _ ”

“How can I when you’re still seething about it?”

She shakes her head, crossing her arms.  

“I’ll get over it.”  

He grins, wrapping an arm around her shoulder for a lopsided hug.  

“It’ll be alright, ‘Liza!”

“Jordan-”

Then, an idea hit him.  

“Wait, do you have another hair tie?”

She tilts her head, grabbing an extra one she carried just in case.  He takes it and starts pulling her hair back, putting it in a small ponytail.  

“There.  Out of the way.”  

She simply has to turn and look at him, then sigh.  It’ll work for now.


	42. Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maverick finds some peace with Nomad.

Erik being awake at strange times of the night wasn’t unheard of, but he tended to keep to himself whenever he was up.  It was better for him, personally, to ease his tension and calm his nerves when he didn’t feel the need to worry about others around him.  He knew he could be paranoid and overly cautious, always on high alert for every sound out of place. He took solace in spending time outside, especially when the night sky was clear and let him see the stars.  He enjoyed mapping it all out in his head, certainly no stranger to navigating using the stars above him. 

“Excuse me-”

He immediately turned to the sound of the voice, every muscle tensing until he realizes it’s Nomad.  Even so, he doesn’t really want to talk to anyone right now. 

“What is it?”

She gives a sad smile.  

“Nothing, I was just-”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I really don’t want to talk right now.”  

She lets out a small sigh.  There has to be something she can do to help, and she isn’t someone easily dissuaded by a tough task.  So, she moves to lean against the railing at a comfortable distance from him on the building’s rooftop, and starts humming loud enough for him to hear.

“Sanaa…”

He had to give her credit; she had a special kind of determination, and she  _ technically _ wasn’t talking, nor does she listen to his attempts to protest.  He instead decides to stay quiet and keep his attention on the sky.  The sound of the gentle humming was much better than being in pure silence with his thoughts.   _ Far better.   _ It helped keep his mind off of the overwhelming sense of paranoia.  

“Sanaa?”

She glances over with a soft smile, noticing that he isn’t as tense, but is keen on ignoring him again if he tries to complain.  He’s not extremely good at talking about his own feelings and experiences, so he has to take a moment to collect his thoughts. 

“Thank you.”  

She smiles warmly, nodding as she stops humming.  

“You don’t have to thank me.  I’m glad I could’ve helped.”

He isn’t quite sure what else to say, but nods and pushes off the railing.  

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“You as well, Erik.”  

He then turns to quietly head back inside, leaving her to watch him.  She hopes that they’ll be able to spend time again soon, on better terms.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Truthfully, I kinda started shipping this quite a bit because of Miantuan-P's art on twitter. It's really cute.


	43. Put Your Shades On!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Ying's birthday, and her teammate knows the best presents.

Ying had mixed feelings about her birthday.  She enjoyed the celebrations that came with the special day, receiving birthday wishes and presents as nice surprises.  But, she didn’t quite know how she felt about another year passing. Regardless, the day was always eventful, and she tended to get caught up in enjoying it with a teammate like Lesion.  So, it hardly surprised her when she heard a knock on her door. 

“Hold on!”

Where did she put her brush?  Her hair was still a mess.  _ Fuck it.   _ She smoothed it out with her hand when she couldn’t find it, then heading to the door.  Lesion was standing there, grinning widely as he handed her a wrapped box. 

“Happy birthday!”

She smiles, taking the box from him and opening it.  When she does, her eyes narrow on a  _ very _ familiar brush.

“You cheeky son of a bitch!”  

Both of them start laughing, Lesion raising his hands in mock surrender when Ying playfully smacked his shoulder.

“When did you even grab it?”

“Last night, you turned your back for a second and didn’t notice me grabbing it at all.”  

Ying shook her head, still laughing.  

“Alright, you got me.”  

He grins, gesturing to the box again.  

“Your actual present is in there, too.”  

She tilts her head, looking back through the box to find a glasses case.  She takes it out and opens it, gaze fixed on the nice pair of aviator shades, with a golden frame and rich orange tinted lenses.  

“Well, try them on!  You’re the one who always says to put your shades on!”  

She laughs at Lesion, tossing the empty gift box aside.  

“Alright, just let me get ready!”  

He nods, putting his hands in his pockets.  

“Don’t forget we’re going out to celebrate later!”

“I won’t, now go!”  

She laughs while pushing him out of her room.  Lesion was an interesting teammate, but she wouldn’t want to trade it for anything.  


	44. Oh Monika...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little story to match [this comic.](https://xmafiacatx.tumblr.com/post/184978828594/small-comic-that-started-out-as-a-vent-but-i-like)

There was a very good reason Dominic preferred to work alone.  He wasn’t a misanthropic man, by any means, or else he wouldn’t be a part of a counter-terrorist unit like the GSG9 and working to save people’s lives.  He knew, however, that life  _ sucked _ , and he wasn’t really keen on having others around when he knew he was someone who seemed to attract misfortune.  It was just how things were. 

It was moments like this especially that reminded him to work alone, standing beside the medical bed that Monika was still laying on, still unconscious.  The lichtenberg figures on her neck would be burned into his memory far longer than they would show on her skin, he knew. It was his fault, after all, his batteries left in clear view where she was moving around and operating near.  It had been to protect her - everything he did with her on a mission with him was to protect her - and it had been what caused her injuries. He prayed she would recover, even as a non-religious man. 

He probably should have left.  Should have gone to his room the moment he got back to base.  Should have collected his thoughts and emotions before Elias or Marius showed up after hearing the news of Monika’s condition.  He knew the other German operators well, knowing even Marius would come when Elias inevitably rushed over to the medbay in a full sprint.  He  _ should _ make himself scarce before then, to avoid the enraged glare and clear pin of guilt.  But he doesn’t. 

He stays perfect still as Elias bursts in through the doors, his eyes darting quickly to Monika’s still form.  

“Monika?!”

It’s foolish, Dominic knows, to try and call her name in this state.  Elias knew that, but some part of Elias always hoped for the best where there was nothing like that in Dominic.  No innate belief of the goodness or power of things. And, Dominic knows, that when that doesn’t come through, when joking or hoping doesn’t work, Elias’ next reaction is pure rage.  And sure enough, that steel-eyed gaze focuses on him, reminding Dominic just how much Elias cares, even if he can’t bring himself to meet it. 

It’s an anger born out of deep care for the others around him, but Dominic knows it runs much deeper than that.  A feeling born from an intense love that he’s so envious of, tormented with and forced to watch as a spectator looking in from the outside.  Monika always preferred Elias, anyway, and this is another reminder of where Dominic stands. 

Elias’ gaze softens seeing Dominic’s expression.  Dominic wasn’t a man who showed his emotions, really, and Elias had gotten used to that.  He had learned what to pick up on, and knew that this was bothering Dominic far more than he could understand.  

“Dom-”

_ “Don’t.” _

His voice was barely stable.  He had to keep his composure, for just a little bit longer.  

“It isn’t your fault-”

“Yes it is.  Don’t try to fool  _ me _ , of all people.”

He can’t look at either them, or Marius when he finally walks in.  

“What happened to her?”

The question made Dominic’s stomach twist.  Marius was always painfully blunt, and Elias, as expected, did his best to keep things calm.  

“Marius, just… hold off on questions.  She’ll be alright.”

“She’s been out for hours, hasn’t she?”  How do you know she’ll be fine?”

He has to leave now.  Dominic knows himself, and how his brain will think of every possibility, whether he wanted to or not.  Useful, when he was working alone. Not so much when this same thing had come up again. He knew what his devices could do.  He had seen it before, and he had no idea if she  _ would  _ recover.  He just couldn’t be here any longer.  

“Dom!”  

He doesn’t turn around when Elias calls his name.   _ He can’t.   _ Can’t bear to see what he’s done to someone he cares about more than he cares about himself, for a  _ second time.   _ It’s far better for him to be alone right now, secluded from everyone and everything.   _ As it should be.   _ It’s when he gets to his door that he pauses.  It’s too close to the other’s rooms, and he doesn’t want to let his thoughts wander knowing that he’s so close to Elias’ room, Marius’ room, and…

He turns on his heel and walks out, to be anywhere else but here.  Even with the sun out and the sky clear, there was still the feeling of rain running down his face.  That happened, right? Yeah, definitely. 

_ So he told himself.   _


	45. Dangerous Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valkyrie and Nøkk go up against each other, and both have a lot of fun with it.

Valkyrie always knew when new arrivals to Rainbow came around, and Nøkk and Warden were no exceptions.  Warden being the more talkative of the two didn’t surprise her either. Nøkk was a person who didn’t feel the need to talk as much, but Valkyrie never minded something like that.  It was more of a shock, admittedly, to find out that the woman was designated to the attacking team rather than defending, with the similarities of her gadget to Vigil and Caveira, but Nøkk had smiled and simply said “it’s good to get some challenging practice in”.  

That was sort of how she ended up in a training simulation, going up against Nøkk to get that very thing.  Not the scariest or worst situation, but it did mean she was going to be hard pressed to win. But, the challenge was the fun part, and she was making sure everything was ready and her defenses were secure before the assault began.  So far, everything was going as she wanted. 

She felt more than ready when the intercom announced that the action of the simulation was beginning.  She has her cameras set up where she expects Nøkk to come through, all the while keeping them as hidden as she can.  She’s quick on checking the default cameras to try and get an idea, but of course, the HEL made it hard to pinpoint anything.  Annoying, but manageable. She’ll just have to rely on her black eye cameras. 

There’s a healthy level of tension as she constantly checks her cameras, getting glimpses of movement but nothing concrete.  Even so, it was enough to use to her advantage and creep closer, and Nøkk had to be aware of the dangerous line they were both walking.  She knows to keep herself calm, but highly alert to not be caught off guard in case a firefight broke out. The silence in the meantime is  _ deafening.   _

The sudden sounds stands out, as small as it is, but it makes her turn in an instant.  It was unlike the stealth operator to make any sort of sound, and she certainly never expected it.  Caution was vital in a moment like this. 

“One minute left in simulation.”

She was admittedly surprised so much time had passed already.  They had been largely dancing around each other, Valkyrie figured, both taking their time to move carefully but wanting to get the advantage of surprise on the other.  Even though she would win if time ran out, a lot could happen in that last minute, and she doesn’t want to win by time out. After a quick check around, she checks one of her cameras, spotting Nøkk head around a corner.   _ Bingo.   _ She gets up and starts moving slowly to the bedroom to flank, MPX at the ready.  

Nøkk was impressed with Valkyrie’s performance so far.  The HEL made her extremely capable as an anti-intel operator, easily able to circumvent cameras without a trace.  But, Valkyrie was still a special challenge, and she was greatly enjoying herself because of it. You only got better when you tested your limits, after all, and while time was running out and Valkyrie surely knew the rough area of where she was, she still had an advantage.  

Valkyrie’s eyes widened when she turned the corner and was no more than an inch from Nøkk’s face.  It made her jump in the surprise, but wasn’t able to react more than that as her legs were swept out from underneath her.  She lets out a yell as she hits the ground, moving quickly to avoid being pinned.  _ CQB it is.   _ But, they both tend to match each other in speed, both strong and capable individuals.  She has to admit, it’s a tough fight, but Nøkk manages to turn her pin against her, then gets her legs around Valkyrie’s waist and arm around her neck.  

“Alright, alright… You win.”  

Valkyrie has to grin despite the close loss.  She’s taking deep breaths when Nøkk’s hold loosens.  

“You did very well.  I enjoyed it.”

Valkyrie laughs, tapping Nøkk’s arm.  

“I’m glad.  You can let go now, by the way.”  

Nøkk laughs quietly, leaning in close to whisper in Valkyrie’s ear.  

_ “Before I do, I want to know when we can do this again.”   _

_ Oh.  Uhm.  _ This isn’t what she was expecting.   _ At all.   _

“We’ll see.  Maybe soon, if we have time?”

She’s satisfied with the answer, letting go and standing to help Valkyrie to her feet before nodding.  

“I’ll look forward to it.”  

Then, the woman turns to walk off without another word, leaving Valkyrie dumbfounded.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm developing a soft spot for this ship and I'm liking it the more I think about it, tbh.

**Author's Note:**

> These works are also posted on [queenevainewriting](https://queenevainewriting.tumblr.com/), and my main blog is [here](http://queenevaine.tumblr.com/) if anyone would like to talk to me!


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